


The City's Most Dangerous

by MochiKazuu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Blood and Violence, Delivery boy Shouyou, EVERYONE SIMPS FOR HINATA, Everyone Loves Hinata Shouyou, Hinata Shouyou-centric, Hinata is the most precious sunshine of all, I honestly don't know where this is going, Just hinata harem really, Mafia AU, Multi, Oblivious Hinata Shouyou, Past Child Abuse, Protective Sawamura Daichi, Protective Tsukishima Kei, Protective Ushijima Wakatoshi, Rich Heir Bokuto, Some platonic some are not, Surgeon Ushijima, Violence, thats basically the whole plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 69,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26406862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MochiKazuu/pseuds/MochiKazuu
Summary: Tsukishima gaped at the oblivious human-tangerine.The human-tangerine didn't even notice his distress, a stupidly bright smile on his face as he proudly rambled on and on."Hinata." Tsukki's voice was trembling, was it because he was terrified or because he was frustrated as fuck? He didn't know."Yes, Tsukki?" Hinata smiled at him, unbothered."You," A shaky breath escaped the blond, "..just befriended the leaders of the crime empires of this city, and you don't have any idea about it! You absolute dumbass!"-One encounter with the sunshine-embodiment was enough to bewitch the six most dangerous men of the city, and all were determined to learn more about Hinata Shouyou and his cheery personality.Tsukishima just wanted peace of mind really.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Everyone, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 682
Kudos: 3189
Collections: an ode to you





	1. Chapter 1

Hinata couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips.

Now, Shouyou wasn't usually whiny, he was usually all-smiles actually, choosing to look at the brighter things in life than the sad, dreary part. 

However, the day had utterly fuzzed him over. 

First of all, he got into a nasty argument with Tsukki very early in the morning. The blond wanted him to quit his newfound job a week into it. Why? Well, because he got lost in town for like _twelve times_ already, but! It was bound to happen, the two of them had just arrived in this city for like a month, and he was sure as hell not used to the buzzing streets and confusing signs yet. Besides, they couldn't depend entirely on Akiteru and Hinata was sure as hell not gonna let Tsukki be the only one with a job. 

Sure, maybe a delivery job wasn't the best job to take but it was the only one that accepted him with his lack of a proper degree. The pay's decent too, he just needed to arrive on time and not be minutes late when delivering. 

The job was challenging, and it thrilled Hinata. He looked forward to leveling up and conquering the big city. 

Then another thing went wrong. 

There was an order made relatively late, like thirty minutes before Hinata could clock out. He really couldn't say no to Ukai when the restaurant manager had asked him to deliver, so he did. Even if he wasn't completely familiar with the streets where the customer should be, he still pedaled his bike towards the place, 

..and found a dark, abandoned lot on the indicated address. They've been pranked.

He sighed and turned to the direction he came from, walking the dimly-lit streets as he dragged his bike along. Two turns later, he was absolutely lost.

_Gods, why?_

He fished for his flip-phone, it was an older model that he could afford, contacted Ukai, told him the order was a prank and was absolutely lost. The man was frustrated at first (at the shithead who pranked them, not Hinata because Hinata was sunshine), he knew it wasn't Hinata's fault that some bastards found delight in ruining someone's day, so he just tried his best to lead Hinata back to the restaurant through phone.

By the time Hinata returned, it was already eight in the evening, an hour later than his supposed clock out. His phone had died on him too, his battery drained on his way back. Ukai gave him food, Hinata thanked him before going on his way to bike home.

_Another thirty-minute biking..._ Thought Hinata, he usually wouldn't complain, since he and Tsukki used to bike over a mountain to go to school, but the day had been mentally draining. He just wanted to be under his warm blanket and sleep after a good meal cooked by Tsukki. 

Then another thing went wrong. _Again_. 

He wished, _begged_ , to the gods above that he was hallucinating and the flat tire of his bike was just a product of his exhausted mind.

He tried to move the bike.

It wasn't a hallucination.

What is with him and his rotten luck today?

He glanced around, he was still far from home, and if he'd drag the bike with him as he walked home, it'll take him at least an hour, and if he decided to leave the bike, it'd still take him forty minutes tops. Either way, Tsukki was sure to grow even more annoyed at him. 

_I can't afford a taxi, and the buses aren't around anymore. What to do..?_

Well, at least the place he was in was well-lit, and there won't be any risk of him getting mugged (not that he had much money to begin with). He was thankful for he brought himself his favorite sweater too. 

He let out a sigh, unaware of the six sharp gazes that were on him.

* * *

**_Approximately two hours earlier._ **

"Ushijima, sir.. Are you sure this is where the heads will meet?" Wakatoshi raised a brow, nodding at his driver, Goshiki, who was glancing back and forth at him and the paper where Bokuto's given coordinates were written.

"Any problem with it?" Asked the Shiratorizawa head.

"No! I was just surprised. I apologize, sir, it shouldn't concern me." Goshiki gave him a quick bow and turned to the steering wheel, revving the car to life.

He was quite curious as to why Goshiki had such a reaction, but he held his tongue due to the strange request from the Owl head.

_"Don't ask about where it is! I just assure you all that it's a safe place."_ Were the words from the Fukurodani head, and Ushijima trusted him. There would be absolutely no benefit for the owls to betray Shiratorizawa and the others anyway.

So he let Goshiki drive him to the secret meeting place with no further complaints and instead focused on the nightfall beauty of the city they all loved and owned.

Ushijima didn't know what to think when he arrived at their meeting place.

Through the glass window, he could see that Bokuto, Kuroo, Kita, and Daichi were already seated inside so he knew that Goshiki didn't make a mistake.

"Um, Sir?" He glanced at his nervous driver, snapping out of his initial shock.

"Ah, Goshiki, you can wait and park the car wherever you deem it's alright. I'll call when the meeting's over." Said the olive-haired man, his driver nodded, giving a polite customary bow before boarding his jet-black car and driving away. He turned back to the place and saw Kuroo waving at him with his cat-like smile. Walking towards the area, he saw a mother and child staring at him as if he had three heads.

Well, Ushijima knew he was gifted with height, and his body was fit with muscles all in the right places. He looked stoic and detached; he didn't really fit in the place.

There was a laugh from behind him, followed by footsteps emphasized by clicking heels. He knew exactly who was behind him.

"Ushiwaka!" A sing-song voice called, not a beat later, a tall brunet was beside him, dressed fashionably good with his gray, fitted turtleneck paired with his dull black coat that went down to his knees. He was wearing black jeans and his usual black leather shoes that had a two-inch heel.

"Please don't call me that, Oikawa."

A huff was heard, "So stingy!"

The two entered the building and instantly felt the gazes that landed on them. Ushijima didn't feel all comfortable at the attention directed to them. On the other hand, Oikawa basked in it, smiling and winking at the ladies he found ogling over him.

"Toshi-Toshi! Oika!" Bokuto waved a hand as he called out their names. As if they couldn't see him with his salt-and-pepper colored hair standing out in the crowd, paired with his also tall stature. The men beside him were gaining quite the attention too. After all, they didn't look like people who one would find in an establishment like this.

"Bokkun! So nice of you to decide to hold the highly classified meeting here, and not even rent the whole place." Oikawa beamed, his eyes were teasing as they reached their supposed table. The owl had the audacity to blush at that.

_Well, compared to the entrance, there are no other people in this part. So Bokuto must've booked half of the place._ Mused Ushijima. 

Kuroo laughed, slapping his friend's back lightly as Bokuto struggled to find his words to defend himself. Daichi only sighed from beside Kuroo and Kita took a sip of his.. Whatever drink that was, a small smile playing on his face.

Oikawa and Ushijima took their seats. Bokuto, Kuroo, and Daichi were on one side of the table while Oikawa, Ushijima, and Kita were on the other. The men had to move their seats since they struggled to fit their large statutes in the space.

Once they were all settled, silence took over the six. As usual, Kita was observing all of them as he waited for someone to speak up first. Kuroo still had his Cheshire cat smile on, finding amusement in their situation. Daichi kept quiet, probably settling for silence instead of him screaming out Bokuto's ears off. Ushijima was observing the foreign surroundings since he had never been in such a place like this. Oikawa seemed like he was waiting for a waiter of some sort to take their order. Finally, Bokuto tried to hide his excitement with all that was happening.

"We all know that you were sheltered and didn't go out as much growing up, Bo, so it's fine." Kuroo's voice was dripping with amusement as Bokuto perked up and looked at him, "Really?" Bokuto's owlish golden eyes held hope in them.

"No. Not really. What the hell, Bokuto? This is classified- let me repeat it, _classified_ meeting, and you set us up here-" Daichi cut off, finally reaching the point where he couldn't stop his anger anymore, making Kuroo laugh his hyena laugh and Bokuto pout.

"I just wanted-"

"Where's the waiter here? Why isn't anyone taking our orders?" Oikawa asked, still looking around for traces of a waiter.

Kita let out a chuckle, "There are no waiters in _McDonald's_ , Oikawa." The fox met the Grand King's stupefied gaze, "You have to go to the counter and order food."

Oikawa let out a dramatic gasp, while Ushijima turned to the fox's head, "Isn't the food here unhealthy?"

Before Kita could even answer, Bokuto spoke up, "Loosen up a bit, Toshi! I know you're a doctor and all, but it'll do you good to at least have fun once in a while!" 

Ushijima only let out a grunt. "I'm only taking care of my body-" 

"Bokuto! Oh my gods, _McDonald's_ , really? You could've asked Akaashi to bring you here, instead of having our highly classified-" 

"You've said highly classified so many times already, Dai." 

"Shut up, Kuroo! Anyway, Bokuto-" 

Kita only watched his fellow leaders as one kept shooting off about how foolish it was to be there, the three looking at the place like they were in another world, while the last one laughed his ass off. 

_Yes. These are the Syndicate Heads_. 

* * *

The six decided that it should be Daichi (when he finally calmed down) and Kita who'd order food for them because Ushijima would probably avoid the unhealthy, oily ones (like almost the whole menu?), Oikawa would probably demand to have everything on the menu, Kuroo would most likely do something stupid, and Bokuto had no clue what those food in the menu were.

Kita and Daichi arrived with their food. Then the heads had quite a feast.

"So," Bokuto started, his words cut off as he took a bite of the chicken nugget, "The guns are in the port already, guarded by my men. Tell Konoha and Akaashi what you guys need, they'll provide." The owl looked at the nugget like it was a blessing from the gods (it probably was), "This is so good!"

"Oikawa, six of your men needed medical attention last week. Four of them were shot, don't worry, nothing fatal. The two were grazed. We've taken care of them." Ushijima told the brunet beside him as he took his drink and sipped, "What is this?" The man turned to Kita.

"Coke." Was the only answer from the fox before he took a bite of his burger.

" _Cocaine_?!" Ushijima looked horrified.

"No, Ushi. It's just a carbonated drink, I'm sure you've heard about them. It's not harmful." Kuroo said as he munched on fries, "Well, not that much."

"Why is their ice cream machine broken?" Oikawa groaned as he sipped on his Coke, "And Ushiwaka, I know. I know everything that happens in my syndicate. I even took care of Kindaichi and Kunimi myself."

The Shiratorizawa head nodded, "You've always excelled in medicine, that is why I believe that you should've come to Shira-"

"Shush, Ushiwaka, you don't want to piss me off now."

"Oi, before you two throw hands at each other, let me say my report. Lev's doing well, all's well actually. Kenma laid foundations on how we can weed out those pesky politicians and businessmen that think they can oppose us. Lev has been steadily expanding his influence and it really helps. There'd be no pesky people that would interfere with how we run the city soon enough." Hums of appreciation echoed from the Syndicate Heads' throats, their mouth full of fast-food for them to talk.

After another chicken nuggets order, Aoba Johsai stated their report, "So, remember the Ishikawa company? Yeah, the crows and my knights have decided to attack them next. Is that alright for the kitty cats?" Oikawa shifted his gaze to the black-haired Cat head, who only shrugged as he grabbed another nugget, "Cool. It'll set an example for the pests." 

"I'll expect a definite date soon then, Oikawa? You have to tell me when you're gonna attack so I can send out the plan for it." Kita spoke up. 

"Of course. I'll tell Iwa-chan to contact you foxes soon," The brunet nodded. 

All was going well, despite Daichi's apprehension. Since Bokuto rented half the place, no one else had walked in on them talking about their illegal activities. 

Bokuto was over and beyond the clouds as he sampled all the food that was presented to him. The Owl head was born into a high-class family from the start. The Fukurodani Syndicate had always specialized in trading and supplying weapons to the others, and Bokuto was the sole heir, inheriting the business after his father died of old age. He wasn't allowed to have what normal people had, like eating fast-foods, hence his excitement when it was finally his turn to decide where the Head meeting would be held next. 

"I want more nuggets," Bokuto exclaimed with star-filled eyes. 

* * *

**_Present Time_ **

The six of them were close to saying their goodbyes when a flash of orange caught Bokuto's attention. 

"Huh?" The head's golden eyes looked out at the lit sidewalk outside McDonald's. There he saw a person, the strikingly orange hair standing out even in the artificial lights. 

"Ah, poor guy, I think he has a flat tire." Daichi apparently saw the person too, or was it a kid? He was too short. 

The others looked out the glass window too, their gazes immediately zeroing on the shock of orange hair, the person now crouched down as if checking the wheels of his bike. Ushijima glanced at his watchー8:37 PM (they spent two hours eating?), it was all too late for a kid to be out in the streets without a parent, but he won't intervene. It wasn't his business anyway. 

"Well, time to go home." Oikawa stood up, ignoring the oranget outside. "It was quite an experience, Bokuto. I'm still not quite sure if I want it to happen again. Anyway, I'll tell Iwa or Makki to contact your men when needed." The brunet attempted to walk away from them but was stopped by Bokuto's grip on his wrist. 

"His orange hair." 

Ushijima raised a brow, "What about the orange hair?" 

"I want to know if it's natural orange hair," The owl said, not letting go of Oikawa. 

"Well-" The brunet twisted and struggled from the strong hold of Bokuto, prying the man's hand away from him, "Go. No one's gonna stop you. So don't stop me from going home." 

"Don't you wanna know?" Whined Bokuto. Kita tilted his head, "How would you approach the boy anyway?" Asked the fox, genuinely curious. 

Daichi just sighed, standing up too. "Well, for you to ask that Bokuto, you'll have to help the guy out." 

Kuroo just looked at his friend, who seemed genuinely curious about the guy's strange orange hair, "Would you?" 

"I will? I mean, why wouldn't I?" 

"I don't know, because it's not like we're good people anyways?" Oikawa had his brows raised. 

"He's right, Bokuto." Admitted Daichi, though he admitted to himself that the boy looked quite pitiful. "We've killed, stole, lied. It's not like we'll wash away our sins if we help him." 

"Well, I'm okay with it." Kita said, looking at the others, wearing his I-am-quite-excited-for-this-shit face. 

"I am too." Chimed Kuroo, "I'm curious, not about his hair, but about what Bokuto will do." It might be good to see another side of the Owl head, thought the light-haired fox as he glanced at the boy who kept looking around him. 

"Well, Kita and Kuroo say they'll go, so I will. Go on and miss out on the fun, Oika." Bokuto taunted the brunet with a smirk, hoping what he did will rile the Seijoh head up. 

Koutaro got the reaction he desired because soon enough Oikawa huffed and said, "Come on then! So I can go home to Iwa-chan already!" 

The six went out of McDonald's since Bokuto paid with a generous tip long ago. Their eyes looking for the oranget, who had put his bike against a wall of the nearby closed shop, prodding at his wheel as if he was thinking of something. 

Ushijima went with them, because even Oikawa, the dramatic king that he was, went and agreed. 

While Daichi decided to come along, for there was this possibility that the five would all flock around the boy and terrify the ginger without them even noticing. He cleared his throat, "I suggest one or two of us to go there first, since the boy is quite short and we're all tall, we might scare the living shit-"

"Yep, too late for that, Daichi." Kuroo chirped, making the crow whip his head to the boy's direction. Where Bokuto and Oikawa stood looming all over the smaller one. 

Shit. _Shit_. Sawamura thought. 

"Bokuto! Oikawa! What the hell?" 

The other four ran towards the three. Immediately catching up to the owl and the pompous king. Sawamura groaned when he saw that the oranget was visibly shocked as two tall men stood over his crouched position. 

Kuroo was about to say something when the smaller male said, "Do you need something?" The words were airy, light, and sweet as cotton candy. How did Kuroo think of that metaphor? He didn't know. All he knew was that the orange-top was the sweetest, most innocent, purest, sun-child he had ever laid his eyes upon. 

That, or he was the greatest con artist in the world that took advantage of his angel-like looks, sweet voice, and bright eyes. 

Kuroo wouldn't mind if it was the latter, they could use one in Nekoma. 

It seemed like the carrot-top had the same effects on his friends too since they seemed to quiet down for a few moments. 

"Do you need help..?" Kuroo heard Ushijima say in the softest voice he had ever heard from him, it was as if the boy would break at his usual commanding voice. The angel-face blinked up at them, then his lips curled into a cute smile. 

What. The. _Fuck_. 

That was the second cutest thing Kuroo had ever had the honor to behold. It rivaled the view of Kenma under him.

While Kita had to blink several times at the sight of the orange-head's smile. Being a fox, he was used to deceiving looks, since he and his team had one themselves. However, that look, the one the shorter male had, wasn't deceiving at all. 

It was pure. 

"Ah, I just had a flat tire! Nothing to worry about! I'm thinking of leaving my bike here for the night and walking home." The oranget said, his voice sheepish as he looked up at them. 

They watched as the boy stood in his full height, Kita calculated that he was about 168 centimeters tall, more or less. 

Then the words registered in his mind. Walking home? In the _night_? In this _city_? 

Well, if it was them, it'd be no problem, _but if it was this sun-child…_

They knew what horrors might come to him. After all, they all ruled the city themselves. 

"You can't walk home!" Was Bokuto's sudden outburst. Their subject of attention looked up at the owl, then Oikawa, who stood wide-eyed beside him, moving to Daichi, who had a worried look on his face, to Ushijima, who looked back at him, his eyes attentive to any sign that the boy needed help. Kuroo, who had a small smile on his face and was studying him back, and lastly to Kita himself who, despite holding his stoic mask quite well, was quite freaking out inside at the prospect of the sun-child getting hurt by one of their men. 

"I.. Uhm, why can't I walk home?"

"Because what if you get hurt?" It was Kita who spoke up. The oranget's eyes widened and began to wave his hands in front of him in a cute attempt to deny the fox's words. 

"Eh? Nonono! I won't! Besides, I run really fast! I won't get hurt!" Chirped the male. _Yeah, you can't outrun a bullet,_ thought Kita. 

The orange-top took his flat-tire bike, giving a short bow to all of them before trying to look for spaces between them to escape. 

Bokuto, Kuroo, and Ushijima immediately noticed what the boy was doing and closed any places or holes the boy could use as an escape, eliciting a surprised yelp. 

"What's your name?" Ushijima asked, with his gentlest tone (that freaked out Oikawa). They watched as the shorter male blink up at the olive-haired man. 

"Um.. Tsukki told me to not tell my name to strangers." The voice was hesitant. And fucking cute. 

Oikawa snorted a laugh at that, he couldn't help it. He didn't even want to come here and meet the short carrot-head and here he was almost falling for the soft, innocent look the boy had. _Almost_. Because it'll take more than that for Oikawa to warm up genuinely. 

_Maybe throw in a grin? Or giggles. Wait, no. I am not a wuss that gets weak-kneed because of the purest smile I've ever seen other than Iwa's. Yup. Not falling for that, carrot-head._

"What are you? A sixteen-year-old?" Tooru couldn't stop the mean words from flowing from his mouth as he turned his face away, snickering. When he didn't get a response for a few moments, he turned to the ginger with wide eyes. "Don't tell me you are?" 

He was expecting another sheepish reply of confirmation; after all, the male was so _short_ , he couldn't know for sure. However, the hesitation and sheepish look wasn't there and instead was painted over by a burning look in the oranget's chocolate-honey eyes. 

"I'm twenty-one!" Ushijima watched in amusement as the male he thought was fragile as glass glared at Oikawa with eyes burning with determination. Determination to what? He didn't know. 

Contrary to popular belief, Ushijima was quite a softie. He had shed tears for the lives he couldn't save since he believed it was his job to do so as a surgeon. He had a sweet tooth and liked chocolates and ice-cream. He wasn't all killing and malice. 

And the look on the oranget before was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen. His protective instinct kicked in almost immediately. 

"Your name?" He asked once more, gathering the male's attention, the fire in his eyes softening as he blinked up at him. "We're not.." Ushijima couldn't possibly say that they weren't dangerous, because they were the _most dangerous_ people in that city, so he searched for other words. 

"We won't hurt you. We just want to help!" Bokuto chimed, answering for him. The male took a little time to watch them first, and it oddly reminded Ushijima of a little baby crow looking up tentatively. 

" _Hi_ _nata.. Shouyou_.." 

"What was that?" 

"Hinata Shouyou. My name's Hinata Shouyou." 

"Ah." was all Ushijima could say. That's a name added to _'mess with him, we'll fuck you up list.'_

Bokuto beamed as he heard the name. Hinata Shouyou. _Hinata Shouyou_. It even sounded as sweet as his smiles! Who knew there were still people like him in the world other than 'Kaashi? 

He waved his hand a bit, gathering Hinata's attention, "I'm Bokuto! You can just call me Bokkun! If you want, I can just give you a ride in my car!" 

"Eh? No need! But thank you for offering!" The heads so Hinata tried to wriggle past them once more, and it was quite cute (like every single thing about the boy). It was to no avail though, they loomed over him. 

Well, five of them did, because Daichi was a little behind Kuroo and spent quite a few moments stunned at the innocence the oranget exuded. 

He knew that if he had taken Sugawara, his second-in-command, with him, the ash-haired male would've probably snatched up the oranget and adopted him. 

When the crow finally snapped out of his shock, his mind finally processed what his friends were doing. Honestly, he was quite impressed that their action didn't spook little carrot-top as much as he thought it would, the male was only visibly confused. 

_He must be really confident with himself. That, or he has no survival instincts._ Thought Daichi with a grimace. 

"All right." Daichi's commanding voice echoed out, gathering all the attention. He poked Ushijima, Bokuto, and Kuroo (which would probably kill any other person if they were to do the same), "You're crowding him. Ease up." 

The three begrudgingly did as he said, Bokuto openly frowning. The male Hinata instantly took his bike and darted out of their grasp, rambling a quick "Well, nice to meet you! See you around!" 

Sawamura immediately held the others back, letting the oranget move. It was a definite struggle, holding back three muscly men who were all taller than him, thankfully the shorter male was quick on his feet. 

When the oranget was out of their reach, he turned to them with a brighter smile than the one they had seen before. It lit up his whole face even more and complimented his bright orange hair. 

"Sorry! I'll just see you around! If we see each other, I guess! Stay safe!" He gave a small wave before sprinting away while dragging his bike with him (which must've been quite a challenge). 

Daichi thanked his stars that Hinata flashed them a stunning smile or he knew he wouldn't be able to stop Bokuto from grabbing him and forcing him to his car for a chat. Maybe he'd even try to convince the kid to join Fukurodani. 

"Why did you stop me, Sawamura?" Bokuto was apparently truly enchanted by the boy since he called Daichi by his last name. Ushijima was looking at him with his brows raised questioningly too. 

"If you'd wanted to, you could've struggled. I can't hold back you, Kuroo and Ushijima all at once." Daichi said with a sigh as he dropped his grip on the three. 

"I did as you said out of respect, but you need to give me a proper explanation as to why you did it." Bokuto's words were sharp, his golden eyes looking displeased. 

"If you forced him to listen to you despite his obvious signals that he didn't want to, you'll just scare him away." Daichi rubbed a hand on his face. 

Kita hummed, thinking. While Oikawa spoke up, "He's living in _our_ city, and he said, _'see you around,'_ I think he pretty much gave us permission to talk to him some other time." 

Daichi raised a brow at the unexpected interest of Oikawa on the ginger. The brunet ignored his questioning look. 

"You all can't stop me from trying to contact him the next day." Bokuto dropped his usual jovial tone, looking his fellow heads in the eye seriously. 

"Though I guess I won't be able to stop you too." The owl followed with a smirk. 

It was true. Oikawa had a hard look on his face, he hadn't met anyone like that enchanting at first glance. He was genuinely curious. 

Kuroo was interested to know if the innocent look was an act because he already was making plans to convince the kid to join Nekoma. 

Bokuto was sure as hell not gonna let Hinata Shouyou off the hook so quickly. He wanted to know about his hair too, and become friends with him. He was as beautiful as 'Kaashi after all, and maybe even as kind. He never expected there could be another person like Keiji. 

Ushijima's protective and doting side was kicking in. He fought the urge to order Goshiki to follow the oranget as he walked home because he might just scare the shorter male away. He was sure to see him the next day though. 

Kita was interested in just how innocent the boy was. He was undeniably adorable and had his charm with him. All the other heads were clearly interested in him, and he wanted to know what would unfold if they got involved with him. 

Daichi was determined as heck to introduce the kid to Suga and the other crows. Maybe the sun-child could melt the ice around Kageyama's heart. 

The six reached an understanding, all were still in good terms as they parted ways, mind filled with the image of the short boy with striking orange hair and his flat bike. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help I've impulsively written this at 2 am. I don't even know how mafia stuff works because I unfortunately have never joined one. 
> 
> Come recommend me the city name, and maybe teach me some mafia stuff on [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/fujoshismochi)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support in the first chapter! You guys warm my heart.
> 
> This story has a beta now! Yaaaay!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Kazu.

Tsukishima had his eyes narrowed at the sight of his adoptive brother looking like he ran a triathlon, with his clothes drenched with sweat and his hand tightly gripping his bike, which seemed to have a flat tire. 

It was half past nine in the evening already, much later than the clock-out time that Hinata had initially told him, and he was all up and ready to search for his airhead of a brother all over the huge city they had just moved into. Right when he opened the door of their apartment, he was greeted by the sight of the orange-head tucking in his bike as quietly as he could. 

Hinata, caught in the act, just looked up at him sheepishly. 

He let him in wordlessly, because if he had opened his mouth in their doorway, he might've screamed bloody hell and disturbed their neighbours. So the blond just clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, toed his shoes off and went to the kitchen. 

"Um.. Tsukki, I can explain." A hesitant voice called out to him. 

He ignored him and proceeded to take out the dinner he had prepared while waiting for the human-tangerine. 

"Well, you see-"

"Don't." Tsukishima took satisfaction in the sight of Hinata's spine straightening up because of his sharp tone. _Good,_ he thought, _I was losing my mind worrying about you because I couldn't contact you and your manager told me you already clocked out but you weren't home,_ Tsukishima openly frowned. 

Yes, he was worried as hell, but he'll never say those exact words to Hinata. Nope. Not in this lifetime. 

He threw a glance at the oranget looking at him from the living room, standing stupidly. 

"Go shower. You stink. After that, eat your food." Instructed Tsukishima. 

"I really think I should explain first-" 

"No. If you tell me the what happenedーwhich would probably be stupid and idioticーI just might be tempted to poison your food." Was the snarky comment from the blond that made the carrot-top let out a sound that sounded like a crow's squawk. 

"You're so salty!" 

"And you're so smelly. Go shower already!" With a huff, Hinata stomped to his small room, probably to prepare his clothes, moments after, he heard the familiar slamming of their shared bathroom's door. 

Tsukishima let out a groan that contained all his worries once he knew Hinata wouldn't hear him. 

He spent a few moments hunched back and leaning on the kitchen counter, his fears and the gruesome scenarios his mind made up still fresh in his mind. After taking a few calming breaths, he stood straight and took out the plate and utensils for Hinata's dinner. 

Tsukishima's mind wandered to when he first saw Hinata eleven years ago. His mom had gone out to visit her close friend, which was Hinata's mom, one day. Tsukki didn't particularly care, since all his attention was directed to his big brother, Akiteru and his mini volleyball lessons for Tsukki. It wasn't when Aki mentioned that their mom was taking too long that Tsukki noticed that it was already nearing nightfall, and their mom wasn't home yet. 

_"Kei, I didn't even notice that mom isn't home yet! The sun's gonna set soon!" Aki gripped the ball with his hands tightly and stopped his tosses, making the ten-year old Tsukki pout._

_"Maybe she's got a lot to talk to with Mrs. Hinata!" He tugged on his brother's purple hoodie, "Come toss the ball again! It's dinner time soon."_

_Aki only shook his head, his expression worried as he ushered the little Kei to their living room. Grabbing the phone, he dialled their mother's cellphone, his apprehension growing as their mother took her time before answering._

_Aki's chocolate eyes lit up, signalling that their mom picked up. "Mom? Where are you? Is everything alright?"_

_Kei watched as his brother's eyes widened, his jaw going slack as his mother presumably explained her situation. Tsukki couldn't hear what she was saying, but judging from the horrified look on Aki's face, it wasn't good._

_"Aki?"_

_As if remembering that Kei was there with him, his brother paled, turned around and whispered a few words to their mom that Tsukki once again couldn't catch. Kei watched from behind as his brother's body moved as he took a deep breath before turning back to him with a smile that Kei's young mind knew was fake._

_"Mom's gonna come back soon, let's prepare our dinner for now. Okay? You can help me." Aki's fingers were uncharacteristically cold as his brother led them to the kitchen to make their food._

_Even when it was Kei's bedtime already, their mom wasn't back yet. Aki had strictly told him to go to sleep and he did, since he wanted more volleyball practice with him the next day._

_When he woke the next morning, their mother was home, with her face pale, her eyes looked like she had cried all night and had bags under them. Next to her was a boy with orange hair,_ Hinata Shouyou _, his mother introduced to Kei as the boy with dead and dull chocolate-amber eyes stared at him._

_"He's gonna live here with us from now on."_

And since then Hinata had managed to get under his skin and make him worry his mind out every single day. 

Kei wasn't clueless to the unique charm Hinata had, since he fell for it as well a few years ago. He was constantly reminded of the disadvantages of it as Hinata made friends with everyone, be it teachers, classmates, seniors, juniors, and even the punks, gangster-like people from their town. Hinata radiated sunshine-like aura with him that put him under shady people's radars. 

Kei hated it, because as snarky and sarcastic as he was, he wouldn't want anything terrible to happen to his brother, and he'd probably kill if someone would try to hurt him. 

After he finished setting up the food, he took his seat, his elbow on the table as he leaned his face onto his palm. Now that he wasn't doing anything, his mind had wandered off again to the possibilities that could've made Hinata go home late. 

_Maybe I should've let him explain first?_ Tsukki let out a sigh, his body perking up when he heard their bathroom door swing open. 

Hinata's footsteps soon came, then the male entered the kitchen, wearing a plain white shirt and his black cotton shorts. He was drying his unruly orange hair with a towel, rubbing the strands for a few moments until he was satisfied, letting the towel fall around his neck. The oranget took his seat across Tsukki, a smile painting itself on his face as he took in the simple ramen dinner Tsukki had prepared (Kei ate first because he was starving). 

Murmuring a soft _'thanks for the food',_ Hinata took his chopsticks and wolfed down on his food. Kei watched as the carrot-top devoured the food he cooked, finishing the whole bowl in the span of minutes. 

Tsukki was dying to know what really happened to Hinata, but upon seeing the way Hinata seemed starving, he let him enjoy his dinner first before prying about. 

It was only after Hinata had slumped down on his seat after eating did Tsukki see the signs of exhaustion on his brother's face. 

The blond's brows furrowed, worry clear on his face, something that Hinata noticed and made him sit straight, all ready to explain. 

"You don't have to talk right now. You can rest already." Tsukki tried his best to keep his worry and concern from bleeding into his voice but failed miserably. He tried to keep his passive face on, looking straight into the chocolate-honey eyes of Hinata, who probably noticed his concern because he had an a small smile playing on his lips. 

"Well.. I won't be able to sleep properly without making it up with you.. You know, because of our argument this morning.." Hinata began fiddling with his fingers, something Tsukki knew he only did when he was unsure of his words. Kei sighed, he wouldn't be able to sleep too, so he motioned for the oranget to talk. 

"Well, um, here goes. After we argued and I got to work, it was pretty much okay, sure, your angry voice kept echoing in my head but I was alright." The oranget's tone was tinged with sadness, making Tsukki feel his guilt. However, his argument made sense, so he held it back. 

"And when it was near my clock-out time, we got an order! I was all ' _gwahhh!'_ " Hinata spread out his arms to emphasise what he was saying. Hinata was never really that good at describing things, "Of course, I delivered it, but it was in a place I'm still unfamiliar with, and when I got there it turned out to be a prank!" 

Tsukki tensed at that. He didn't even consider the shitheads who would pull shit like that. He really needed Hinata to find a new job. 

"Then I got lost." Kei couldn't stop his groan, he just _knew_ a delivery job wasn't suited for Hinata. 

"Ukai led me back through a phone call though! But my phone died on me though.." So that was why he couldn't contact Hinata. Kei should probably buy Hinata a new phone with a better battery capacity, and with a digital map. 

"So, I left the restaurant and started biking home, but in the middle of it, I got a flat tire!" Hinata grimaced at that, as if he remembered an unpleasant memory, "Luckily, it was right in front of McDonald's!" 

"Then I was thinking of leaving the bike for the night in front of McDonald's, I would've secured it though, and just walked back home because I can't afford a taxi, then these men approached me!" Because Tsukki was busy listing off things he needed to do about Hinata in his head, he didn't realize until after a few moments. 

His brain screeched into a halt, the mental list forgotten. "Men?" 

Hinata just nodded, "Men who were almost as tall as you are. They were all rich-looking too! They all looked like models, especially the brunet guy." Hinata's nose scrunched up, as if remembering something unpleasant, "He was a little rude though! But there was also this guy who looked like an owl!" 

"How can someone look like an owl?" 

"Don't know, but he was really nice! He offered me a ride in his car, but the other guys said that I should ride their car. I didn't want them to argue so I ran away with my bike. Besides, if you saw that I rode a stranger's car, you would've been furious." Shouyou smiled sweetly at him. Tsukki rolled his eyes playfully, these were the times that he was reminded that Shouyou, despite being a few months older than him, was always deemed as the youngest in their household and was the sweetest cinnamon roll. Everyone adored him. 

"Good to know you use your brain once in a while." Was the playful snide Tsukki gave Hinata. The oranget pouted, giving him the look that resembled a cute child, "I happen to use my brain a lot, Tsukki!" 

"Whatever. These men.." Kei looked at his brother with a serious look, "If you ever feel like they're dangerous and they approach you again. Get away from them, okay? Call me, or go home. I'll be there." Hinata nodded at his words, giving him a comforting grin. 

Tsukki didn't really think much of the men, it was a big city with a lot of large businesses in it. Those were probably office workers, or rich people that were curious about Hinata's charm. He didn't really think that they were somebody dangerous. 

The two of them set off to their rooms after Hinata cleaned the dishes, and went to sleep for the next day ahead. 

* * *

Akaashi looked at the agenda of the day. 

_One meeting with Komi, Saru and the others at ten. Bokuto-san then needs to check over the weapon list order of Aoba himself. Sign over documents, then one video conference with the heads._

The last one caught the Akaashi's attention. _Another conference even though they met personally yesterday? How odd._ Mused Akaashi in his mind. 

He was currently walking down the hallway to Bokuto's room. It was seven in the morning and it had been his job ever since the former Fukurodani chairman died to wake Koutaro up for his day. 

He was about to knock on the door when it swung open, revealing a surprisingly, very much awake Bokuto, all dressed up and ready for the day. 

"'Kaashi! Good morning! Let's go get breakfast!" The secretary didn't even get the chance to utter one word before Bokuto grabbed his hand and led him to the dining room. 

Akaashi stayed rooted in his place, making his boss turn to him with a confused look. Akaashi only smiled, his hands reaching out to the crooked golden yellow tie that Bokuto had, fixing and straightening it up. His bluish-green eyes met the owlish gold ones of his boss, a grin painted itself on Bokuto's face, "Thank you, 'Kaashi." were the words uttered by the Owl head. 

Akaashi hummed, dropping his hands to his side, "It was no problem, Bokuto-san." Bokuto then reached for his right hand, intertwining his with the boss' bigger ones, softly tugging on him and leading him to the dining room. 

"You seem chipper this morning." Akaashi voiced out his thoughts, earning a laugh from Bokuto. Keiji was used to the sporadic mood of the Owl head, he had been dealing with it for four years, after all, but never once did he find Bokuto all dressed up by himself before. Of course, there were times when Akaashi would knock on the door and find Bokuto staring at the window with a wistful, sad look in his eyes, but the mornings were usually spent by trying to encourage the head to get out of bed to do his work. 

The bespectacled male searched in his brain for any reasons that would've caused his boss to act in such a peculiar way. Then it clicked in. 

* * *

_"'Kaashi!" Their boss announced his presence. Akaashi stood from his seat, walking to the hallway where Bokuto just came from. He gave their cheery boss a polite customary bow, Konoha following close beside him._

_"Welcome back, Bokuto-san. How was the meeting?" Keiji asked._

_"How was McDonald's?" Was the teasing of Konoha from beside him. Surprise was seen in the head's eyes at the sight of his second-in-command, however it seemed like something was much more important than Konoha's unannounced visit since Bokuto only grinned._

_"It was awesome! Even Toshi-Toshi ate." Bokuto began walking towards the long couch in the room, his two underlings following him._

_"Oh wow, Ushijima did? But he has a strict diet." Konoha playfully elbowed Akaashi, "I bet that he hasn't even stepped in a fast-food chain before."_

_Akaashi only smiled in response, while Bokuto chirped as he sat down, "You're right! Oika and Toshi haven't been to one, just like me."_

_"I'm surprised about Oikawa, I thought Iwaizumi would've brought him in one before." Konoha mused out loud._

_"'Kaashi I met someone!" Bokuto practically had stars in his eyes. Keiji was sure his boss had the same look as when they first met._

_"Oh no, Akaashi you might get replaced." Konoha laughed._

_"Eh? No one can replace 'Kaashi. Ever." was the earnest reply from their boss that made Konoha snort out a laugh, whispering under his breath what sounded like, "He's so whipped."_

_Akaashi tried his hardest not to flush there and then, despite his efforts, he knew his cheeks were dusted with pink because of Bokuto's words, "Who did you meet then?" Keiji applauded himself for not stuttering._

_"Someone as beautiful as you are!" Akaashi's cheeks heated up even more, "He reminded me of you 'Kaashi, but he seemed much more energetic so he's like our child!"_

_Keiji mentally cursed at Konoha who had the gall to guffaw at the Head's words while he couldn't stop his flush anymore. Bokuto had always said everything wholeheartedly and honestly (of course except when he was in business-mode) that it made his heart flutter._

_"Our child..?" Keiji sputtered out, while Bokuto only nodded and grinned, "He had this bright orange hair too! I just didn't get the chance to ask if it was natural."_

_Keiji tried to imagine someone with bright orange hair._

_He couldn't._

_"I'm gonna see him tomorrow, 'Kaashi. I want you to come with me." Bokuto suddenly announced._

_"Are you that curious about him?" Konoha asked._

_"Yeah! And I'm not the only one interested. Daichi had to physically hold back Kuroo and Ushijima!" Akaashi's eyebrow rose in surprise._

_"Even Ushijima?"_

_"Yeah! You should've seen him, 'Kaashi! He was small and bright! Like a little sun. His smiles were beautiful! And he seemed so pure and innocent!" Bokuto had listed off the things he found the most intriguing._

_"Oh? For how long did all of you talk to him then? And what's his name?" Keiji inquired, his curiosity piqued. Bokuto, despite his cheery personality, didn't like strangers that much, he even had some troubles with the other heads the first few years as the Fukurodani leader._

_"Hmm, like five to seven minutes?"_

_"Eh?" Akaashi and Konoha said at the same time._

_"Yeah! It felt so long though! Hinata was really enchanting." Bokuto smiled, as if clearly remembering the boy he was talking about._

_"Hinata?"_

_"Yep. Hinata Shouyou."_

* * *

"Is it because of Hinata Shouyou?" A smile was playing on Keiji's lips. Bokuto only hummed happily. 

"That's great, Bokuto-san. I just have to remind you that you have to finish all your work first, before we go out to see him." Keiji reminded his boss. 

Bokuto stopped in his steps, his grin dropping. 

Bokuto absolutely hated paperwork, it took him ages to finish his. The majority of Bokuto and Akaashi's day would always be spent trying to motivate the Owl head to finish his work. 

"Can I.. Just skip over today's work..?" If Akaashi had been a weaker man, he would've caved in to the pleading look of his boss, with his golden, owlish eyes, his adorable little pout, even his upturned hair seemed to droop down. 

"You just have to finish it quicker than normal. We wouldn't want to scare Hinata by approaching him at nightfall, no?" Keiji painted a comforting smile on his face, giving comforting pats against Bokuto's broad back as he led them to the dining room to start their day. 

* * *

"'Kaaaaashi."

"Just a little more, Bokuto-san." 

"But!" 

"So here, this is the proposed contract given by the.." 

* * *

Finally, the paperwork for the day was finished. Though Bokuto-san had groaned and whined more so than usual, he still did his work. 

The Fukurodani Syndicate, or the Owls, was a part of the syndicate and specialized in trading of weapons and other things the Syndicate needed to thrive. It had been doing so for the past twenty years and as of today, it was ruled by Bokuto Koutarou. 

The Bokutos were famous not only in the underground society, since the Fukuro Co., a leading trading company, was owned by them too. 

Basically, Bokuto-san had to rule both over a syndicate and a company, and he had no choice but to do so since he was the only heir.

Akaashi Keiji wasn't originally a Fukurorani member, unlike most of his colleagues whose family had been with the Bokutos for a long period of time. When he was nineteen and was struggling to find a job, Koutarou's father had picked him up, and offered him to be his secretary despite his lack of a degree. The old man was smart and watchful, very much like an owl himself. On his deathbed, he admitted to Keiji that he wanted him to look after his son, who would soon be the head after him. Keiji was grateful for the man, and promised to do his best for his son. 

"'Kaashi, you should eat more." Akaashi was snapped out of his mind by Bokuto putting more food on his plate. The bespectacled male gratefully accepted it, earning himself a bright grin from the owl, which soon dropped and was replaced by a serious look. 

"Why were my pillows and sheets changed last night, 'Kaashi?" Keiji heard his boss inquire. Akaashi pursed his lips, trying to think of a way to worm his way out of the question. 

"Please don't lie, Keiji." 

Akaashi winced. Despite the fact that there were times that Bokuto acted like a child, he was still an heir that was trained and taught every skill he needed to survive in the underground society. He was sharp and observant, and though he didn't seem like it, he was much smarter than Akaashi. 

"An assassination attempt happened last night while you were out with the heads. The bed must've kept unkempt and a lump formed on the sheets, creating the illusion that someone was lying on it. We captured the assassins, one had a dagger, the other had a gun. " Keiji had explained in his gentlest voice, but despite that, he still saw the way Bokuto's mood plummet. 

_Of course he'd feel like shit, Keiji! Someone tried to kill him!_

It wasn't the first time that someone had tried to assassinate him, and Konoha had already made sure to put up the proper punishment for the mansion's guards who had let a slip up. 

"So that's why Konoha was here last night. Usually he'd do his work from his own place." Murmured Bokuto, playing with his food. Akaashi had to keep a pained expression from showing on his face. 

Since Bokuto was an rich heir from birth, he was put under the radar of people who wanted the Bokutos dead. His mother was a victim of an assassination, she passed when Bokuto was only seven. 

"Ah. I see.." 

"Bokuto-san-"

"It's fine, Keiji." With the use of his first name, Akaashi shut his mouth.

* * *

"Keiji, let's go to the conference room now!" Bokuto exclaimed as soon as they finished their food. 

"Bokuto-san, Komi and Washio have the two bastards in the torture room, if you want to to-" Akaashi tried to explain. 

"Keiji.. I don't want my mood tampered down because of it. It wasn't the first time, let's talk to Kuroo and the others now so we can see Hinata." Akaashi only nodded, hoping that Hinata Shouyou can take Bokuto's mind off the assassination attempt. 

* * *

"So we already dug some things about bright eyes." Kuroo said with his Cheshire cat smile. The bicoloured hair of Kozume Kenma was visible beside him. 

"That was fast." Kita commented, looking like he was just taking his lunch, Ojiro Aran stood at guard behind him. 

"Well, if anyone could do it, it'll be the cats. Shiratorizawa can't provide that much help." Ushijima said in a matter-of-fact tone. Bokuto hummed in agreement. Shiratorizawa specialized in providing medical services to the Syndicate members after all. 

Akaashi was standing up behind Bokuto, through the laptop screen, he saw Sugawara, the Crows' second-in-command that he was quite close with, their gazes met and they smiled at each other. 

"Well spill it out, I wanna know if Shrimpy is as clean as he looked like." Oikawa sounded as pompous as ever, behind him, Iwaizumi visibly rolled his eyes. 

Daichi leaned in, motioning for Kuroo to speak. Kuroo nodded. 

"So he's from a faraway small town named Miyagi. He was adopted into a household named Tsukishima. Nothing's off with that family. It stated here though that Hinata's mother and younger sister died of an illness when he was ten, the father is non-existent." Kuroo showed a few pieces of paper that had a picture of a younger Hinata, probably from his high school. 

"Where is he working in this city? Where does he live?" Bokuto inquired, his tone excited. 

"Here's the thing, he works for Ukai." That caught Daichi and Sugawara's attention. 

"Ukai's restaurant?" Daichi asked. 

"Yep. There are no other Ukais here anyway." Kuroo played with the stands of Kenma's hair, who was engrossed in a game as usual. A _tsk_ from Kenma was heard as he lightly slapped Kuroo's hand away. The black cat continued, despite it. 

"He's at least working in a good workplace then.." Daichi murmured. Keishin was a good man. 

"That settles it then! I'm gonna see him!" Bokuto cheerfully announced. Akaashi eyed the bright smile on Bokuto's face. It was beautiful. 

"Bokuto, may I ask for a favour?" Daichi spoke up. 

"Hn? What is it?" Keiji watched as Bokuto owlishly blinked at the Crow head. 

"Please don't approach him in Ukai's presence. He will sure keep him from us. From all of us. He knows your and Akaashi's face, when he sees you having interest on Hinata, he'll probably say things to Hinata that will make him avoid us.." the crow's tone was laced with worry. Sugawara nodded from behind him. 

Kita butted in, "In retrospect, little Hinata _should_ avoid us at all cost." A rare smile was playing on the fox's face. 

"Too late for that." Grunted Ushijima.

"For once, I agree with Ushiwaka." Oikawa was playing with his nails, trying to look nonchalant. 

Kuroo only smirked. Kenma's calculative gaze was seen on the screen as the smaller cat studied the heads' faces. "Huh.. I think I want to meet Hinata Shouyou too.." Kenma's voice was soft as usual, but it was still audible. 

Akaashi glanced at all the city's most dangerous people's faces as they anticipated their another encounter with Hinata Shouyou. 

_Hinata Shouyou, I hope you're ready for what's to come._ Akaashi thought silently. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, this chapter has less action and more world-building. I'm sooo sorry if it wasn't what you guys wanted.
> 
> You guys surprised me with how much people liked the first chapter! I just hope this doesn't kill the mood though..
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!
> 
> Stay safe. 
> 
> Kazu.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! READ THE TAGS FIRST PLEASE
> 
> This chapter has mild(?) violence in it, be warned.

Ukai was surprised to see Hinata without his bike. 

The oranget had come to the restaurant, looking all sheepish, and apologized because he won't be able to do deliveries with his bike, which turned out to have a flat tire. 

"Well, Narita can do all the deliveries for the day, and since you still came to work, is it okay for you to take orders?" Ukai looked over the short male, after only a week of him working, he had come to know that Hinata Shouyou was someone he could rely on, he just needed to get used to the city's streets. 

"Yes! Yacchan's still at school, right? So she won't be able to help, let me take the orders in her place!" Hinata enthusiastically said, determination set in his eyes. 

"Sure." Ukai nodded his approval, "Besides, it's not like we get tons of customers anyway." The faux blond male said with a chuckle as he walked to the counter. 

"But the food's really good here!" 

"This is a big city, Hinata. There are tons of other places people can go to." Ittetsu suddenly came out of the kitchen, an apron wrapped around his body. 

"Chef Takeda!" Hinata waved with a smile. Ukai's gaze landed on the love of his life, the reason why he chose to abandon the absurdly huge pay of his former job to establish the restaurant they now owned. 

_"The money's not worth it if Ittetsu and Yachi will be in danger."_ Were the words Keishin told his former boss, someone whose growth he had watched over. He got lucky that the man still held compassion within him despite his job description, it was the only reason he got out of that world safely and easily. 

Keishin grew up in that world, but he didn't want Yachi and Ittetsu involved in it. 

Soon enough, the regular customers came filing in. Takeda went back to the kitchen since he was the one in charge with the food, Ukai manned the counter, while their server, Kinnoshita and Hinata did their jobs. 

Keishin observed their newcomer. Hinata Shouyou certainly had a charming personality, he was warm and cheery, resembling the soft morning sun itself. He was also determined as hell, Keishin could still remember the burning determination in the oranget's eyes the first time he had come to their place, pointing to the _delivery boy wanted_ sign that Yacchan made. 

_"Well, you know, as you said, you're new to the city, a delivery job might not be for you." Keishin scratched the back of his head. He didn't really want to deny this boy of a job when he looked like he had been looking for one the whole day already, with his tousled (and peculiar) orange hair and his sneakers covered in dust most likely because of biking all over. He looked so cute too._

_"I'll do my best to learn everything! Please!" The boy bowed in a perfect angle, "Just give me two weeks! Or a week and a half! I'll get used to it please.." Ukai could see in his peripheral vision that Yacchan, their server Kinnoshita and delivery boy Narita were looking at the boy with a pained expression._

_Ukai threw a glance at his partner, his eyebrows pinched together, he motioned at the bowing boy. "What should I do..?" Keishin mouthed the words._

_Chuckling, Ittetsu walked to them and with a gentle hand, raised the oranget's head up. "You seem really determined to do so.. What's your name again?" Takeda spoke in his soft and soothing voice._

_Ukai watched as the boy gazed at his partner with such earnest eyes that could make anyone melt. "Hinata Shouyou." The boy answered._

_"Well, Hinata, do you swear that you'll do your best in the job?"_

_The soft chocolate eyes blazed with determination once more and surprised Ittetsu, shown by how the bespectacled male flinched suddenly at the change of expression. This Hinata Shouyou had such expressing eyes._

_"I swear!" Then Hinata curled his lips into a smile. A smile that managed to steal all their hearts._

_"He could definitely be a model!" Ukai heard Kinnoshita say. Yacchan hummed in agreement too._

_"Alright." Takeda placed a hand on the oranget's shoulder, "Let Keishin see your papers so that we can formally hire you."_

Well, the kid had no bad records whatsoever, so they hired him. In regards to the deliveries, Hinata had his times where he was undeniably late, but he didn't mess up as much as Keishin expected him to. 

Ukai watched from afar as Hinata talked to the few customers in a jovial manner, with his laughs echoing in the place and his smile lighting up his face. He really was a mini sun, he matched his name well. 

The day was going on quite peacefully, until a pair of customers entered, catching Ukai's attention, it was the first time that he had seen the two in his place. Hinata greeted them, his chocolate eyes taking in the appearance of the two as he led them to a table. 

Ukai kept his gaze on the pair, not because he was memorizing the face of potential new customers but because they looked shady as fuck. 

Well, the man did at least, with his arm swung around the smaller female's neck. Ukai didn't miss the way the man eyed the girl, as if gauging for any signs that she might flee. 

Keishin was used to observing and deciphering people because of his old job, he used that skill when he hired Hinata and all his workers. 

_That guy, is he up to something? That girl looks so much younger than he is._ Ukai moved around the counter, pretending to do something because the guy just might notice his stare and flee.

Hinata took the pair's orders. Talking to the guy as he presumably asked about the food. 

_Okay, Hinata can distract them for a bit as I- wait._ Ukai's gaze moved to his worker, whose aura and demeanour had changed. 

He was still laughing and smiling as before. His eyes though, the orbs that were usually filled with soft warmth and glee, were sharp and observant, taking in every movement that the guy made. The way his hand would land on the girl's clothed thigh and how the girl would lightly flinch (the movement was so little that Ukai had to squint), the way that the girl would slowly inch away from the guy, and Keishin was sure there were other things he couldn't see from his place, however, Ukai was sure Hinata was taking them all. 

Hinata looked like a predator assessing his prey. 

It was quite ironic since the guy was at least ten centimetres taller than Hinata himself. 

Keishin waited, he observed from afar. Despite his intuition kicking in, he couldn't throw out the man and take the girl away, he didn't have enough proof.

Hinata finished taking their orders, nodding and smiling at the two before turning around. Ukai tensed when he saw Hinata's face. 

The smile that the orange-head had painted on his face dropped, his lips set into a straight line as he walked to Ukai. Keishin felt himself flinch at the sharp gaze that was directed to him, the shadow of Hinata's tousled hair casted on his face and gave him a darker look. 

Hinata looked terrifying. 

"Ukai-san. Here are their orders." The sweetness on Hinata's voice seemed so real, and Ukai was sure that he would've never noticed that something was off if not for the look on his face right now. 

Hinata's voice softened into a whisper, but he didn't lean in, in case that the suspicious guy was watching, "I think that guy is up to no good. I don't think the girl is his girlfriend or sibling. I'll observe them still, but please don't panic, he might run." 

Ukai swallowed, "A-alright.." He cursed at himself for stuttering, "I'll tell Ittetsu." 

The faux blond took even steps towards the kitchen, and when he knew he was finally out of the guy's sight, he let out a shaky breath, the image of Hinata's face still vivid in his mind.

"Keishin-" He was sure Takeda spoke, but his mind couldn't register the words. 

Ukai was a part of Karasuno for most of his life. He'd seen terrifying things in the Syndicate, things that still haunted him in his sleep. Hinata didn't have the scariest face he had ever seen, not a chance, but his 180° turn was by far, the most unexpected one that he had to take a few moments to calm his racing heart. 

He didn't even notice the calming hand that was rubbing circles on his back. He looked at Ittetsu apologetically, "It's fine, Keishin. Did someone from the Syndicate dropped by?" 

Yes, he had told Takeda about his past, and he was grateful that he still accepted him. 

"No..," Ukai sighed, "There's a troublesome man outside. Hinata's still keeping an eye on him subtly, but if he does something fishy we'll intervene. I can't jump to conclusions anyway.." 

"Hinata?"

"Yeah, I just saw Hinata's cheery side replaced by something I've never expected of him. That's why I was so shaken." Ukai explained as he handed the piece of paper where the orders were scribbled on. 

Takeda nodded in understanding, "Let's talk more later, if you take any more time here, the guy might suspect something, I'll take care of this." The paper was taken from Ukai's palm. 

Hands cupped Keishin's cheeks, and he looked at the charcoal eyes of Ittetsu. "Stay safe, okay? Hinata too." 

Ukai nodded as he gave a chaste kiss on Takeda's forehead, before going back out. 

When Ukai went back to the counter, Hinata was chatting with Kinnoshita, but he could see that the boy's attention was divided, his body angled slightly away from Kinnoshita and towards the tables where the customers, including the pair, were seated. Hinata faked his laugh and smiles, and poor Kinnoshita didn't have any idea that Hinata's full attention was not on him as he rambled about something. 

The man occasionally glanced all over the place, his hand kept on the girl's thigh, and the greasy smile kept on his face. The girl had his lips pursed, and from Ukai's place, he couldn't see much of her movements since she wasn't flinching nor inching away now (probably because of the man's hold, but Ukai couldn't be sure), the man leaned in and whispered something to the girl that elicited a laugh. 

The laugh sounded real enough, and it certainly took Hinata's attention, the orange-head subtly swept his gaze all over the place, slightly lingering on the pair. The man was chuckling now. 

_Maybe we were overthinking it? Damn, we can't move unless we have solid proof._ Ukai thought with a grimace. 

The food arrived soon enough, and Ukai made sure that it would be Hinata that would be serving (if Hinata hadn't shown his unexpected side, Ukai wouldn't let the carrot-top anywhere near the man), again Hinata had faked his cheery personality, and even engaged the man in a short talk about the food. 

Hinata walked back to where Kinnoshita was, his gaze met Keishin's, and Ukai didn't know how, but he understood that Hinata would still continue his subtle observation of the two. 

_He'd make a great crow. With his personality, maybe he could even form a friendship with Kageyama._

The thought came all sudden and unexpected, and it made Ukai freeze in his spot. 

_No. No! Goddammit Keishin, you're not recruiting crows anymore! Hinata doesn't deserve his life tainted by the Syndicate!_ Ukai was tempted to claw his hair out in frustration. He had subconsciously thought the way he did before, looking at someone, not because of his worth as a person, but his possible worth in the Syndicate. 

Because Ukai was in his internal turmoil, it took a moment for him to notice that the girl had nudged her plate to the edge of the table, still filled with the special soup they had ordered, until it fell with all its contents on the man's clothes. 

"What the fuck?!" The outburst took everyone's attention, Ukai was already dashing out of the counter as the man momentarily forgot that he was in a public place, "You fucking bitch!" His fist raised, all ready to strike as he held the struggling girl in place with a clawing hand. 

The fist never reached the girl's face, for Hinata Shouyou was there to hold the hand back. Keishin was sure Hinata's face sent shivers down the man's spine. 

His eyes held a different kind of flame, much different from the cheerful and warm look he usually had, Hinata's eyes held hell fire, the ones that threatened to burn one's soul out if displeased, they were scorching and very _very_ angry. 

"What do you think you're doing? Boy, don't stick your nose over matters that don't concern you." 

Ukai helped the trembling girl out of her seat, prying away the man's hand. Ittetsu came out of the kitchen too, and took the girl in his arms and led her away from the man. 

"You were about to hit her." Hinata's voice was ice-cold. It reminded Ukai of Kageyama. 

"So? She's my wife," The man tried to yank his hand away from Hinata's grasp, but found the orange-head's grip to be very tight. "Let go. You don't even know who I am, boy." 

"Fuck you." Ukai gathered the man's attention, his phone raised to his ear already and was calling the police. From the kitchen, the girl's loud sobs could be heard. Kinnoshita blocked the entrance per Takeda's order. 

The man laughed but Ukai could pick up traces of hesitation, "Police? Go ahead then. It seems like you don't know how this city works." He yanked once more, now Hinata was forced to let go. 

"I know how it works." Ukai retorted. 

The man turned to the glaring Hinata and gave him his own glare. "I have power over this city, boy. Even if the police come, I won't get arrested and that girl would still come to me." 

"If you've got power, then why dine here? I'm sure there are plenty of other restaurants that have a much more secluded place. Maybe you wouldn't even have been caught if you went there." Hinata countered, his gaze not wavering. 

The man flinched a bit. 

"See? It's either you're lying about having _'power'_ over this city. Or you're just really dumb." Hinata cocked his head to the side, "Maybe even both." 

"You-" 

Ukai lunged at the man who had once more swung his fist for a strike, now towards Hinata, his phone fell on the floor with a crack, the call was never answered. The orange-head didn't even flinch. 

Keishin was all ready to render the man unconscious when a hauntingly familiar voice echoed out. 

"Oh? What an interesting sight, Keishin-chan." 

* * *

Hinata turned to the entrance, which was now open and revealed three men. 

Kinnoshita went to Hinata and put some distance between the man in Ukai's hold and him. 

"Hinata you were really brave back there, but now let Ukai-san manage it." Kinnoshita whispered. 

"I didn't even notice.." The server continued, his voice held regret. 

Hinata nodded at the guy, giving him comforting pats on his back. "Sorry I didn't tell you. If the man noticed, he would've fled. We didn't have much evidence too." Hinata explained, his face had a small smile on it, but it was still different from his usual cheery ones. 

Hinata's gaze went back to the new men, two were dressed formally with their black dress shirt and pants, while the older, shorter man in the middle, had a tailored red suit. 

They all looked rich, and reminded Hinata of the men he had encountered the night before. 

"Nekomata-sensei.." Hinata heard Ukai say, his eyes wide and unbelieving. 

"There's the pest!" The older man in the red suit laughed. Hinata looked once more at the newcomers, and found that the two men dressed in black looking at him. 

One had a blond mohawk, the other had short black hair with wide eyes that looked like a cat's. 

The black-haired male smiled at him and waved. Hinata didn't like to be rude so he waved back. 

_They look dangerous, but I don't think they mean harm to Ukai-san.._ Thought Hinata. 

Ukai snapped out of his shock, while the two men walked to where the troublesome man was. They took the stupefied man who looked like he was about to piss his pants from Ukai. 

Hinata looked around the restaurant, they were lucky they only had three other customers that time. 

Ukai and the older man he called Nekomata talked in hushed tones for a bit, before the faux blond turned and walked to the counter, took some coupons, and gave them to Hinata and Kinnoshita. 

"Please use this to compensate for the troubles caused for the other customers. We're really lucky they are our regulars.." Ukai sighed. The two nodded and set off to work. 

After a series of apologies and explanations (the customers praised Hinata too), the restaurant only had them workers and the men in it. 

"You two go home for now." Takeda called out to them, beside him was the girl with bloodshot eyes after crying. The three nodded, Hinata's gaze met the girl's. 

"Thank you so much.." The girl croaked out, her voice hoarse and broken. Hinata painted his cheery and comforting smile on his face as he stepped a little closer to the girl. 

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything sooner, I wasn't entirely sure.." Hinata bowed, while the girl started tearing up once more, "No.. Please don't bow, I'm the one who's supposed to do that. If he had noticed earlier that you guys were suspecting something he would've dragged me away.. I wouldn't be able to ask for help.." 

"We're just glad you're okay now." Takeda rubbed soothing circles on the girl's back. 

Ukai called them and told them to go home for the day once more, and Hinata and the others took their stuff before going out of the restaurant. 

"What a crazy day.." Kinnoshita sighed, his body slumping. "You saved a life, Hinata." 

Hinata sighed, "I'm used to observing people ever since I was a kid, and when I played volleyball in high school, I got even sharper because I wanted my skills to improve. It really proved useful today…" 

_Tsukki would've been proud.. Mom too._ Shouyou thought to himself. 

Hinata looked around, there were cars parked around the restaurant, fancy looking ones, and he assumed that they belonged to the men inside. His gaze landed on a short, blond girl wearing a school uniform who was walking towards them. 

"Yacchan!" Hinata and Kinnoshita called the adoptive daughter of Ukai, Yachi. 

"Hinata..? Kinnoshita..? Do we not have customers?" Yachi had a confused look on her face, her eyes darting towards the fancy cars too. 

"We've never had customers that rich.." 

"No, Yacchan. A troublemaker went and caused trouble for us. Luckily, Hinata and Ukai-san noticed the girl's distress, and they saved her." Kinnoshita motioned at the cars, "Now, your dad's talking to some rich-looking people." 

"That much happened?!" Yachi had her eyes wide with shock, "Are you two okay? Did the guy hurt you?" The blonde's gaze looked over the two for any signs of injuries. 

"No, Yacchan! He didn't get to do much since Ukai-san was there to stop him. He was all _whoosh!_ " Hinata made a quick motion with his hand. 

"Hinata was really brave back there.." Kinnoshita sighed once more. "I was so shocked and scared.. The men came too, and since I was blocking the entrance, they asked for me to move, I was so terrified that I just did what they said." Kinnoshita looked like he wanted to cry. Hinata gave comforting pats to the guy. 

"Why don't you go home for a bit?" Hinata suggested. Yachi nodded her agreement. 

"Yeah.. Yeah, I should do that.." Kinnoshita whispered, straightening up and giving a shaky smile to the two. 

"Will you be alright?" Yacchan asked. 

"Yeah.. Don't worry! My apartment's nearby anyway." Kinnoshita turned to Hinata, "You stay safe, okay?" 

Hinata gave him his bright smile, "Yep! I'm going to McDonald's. I want nuggets after all that." 

The three waved goodbyes to each other, the two males gave their reminder for Yachi to be careful when she enters the restaurant, a warning the girl heeded. 

* * *

Ukai heard the doors being opened, and saw her daughter entering the place with light steps. 

"Yachi. Come here." Takeda's voice called to her, and Ukai was sure that Yachi would not be listening to his talk with the old guy sitting across from him. 

His gaze flitted back to Nekomata, who was looking all over the details of the place with a smile, his cat-like gaze unnerved Keishin. His two men, Yamamoto and Fukunaga, stood near the entrance, the troublesome guy was rendered unconscious with one hit on his nape. 

"That guy better not went here because you told him to do so." Keishin's voice was dark. 

Nekomata's gaze landed on Keishin, "No. Of course not. I admit that I needed to talk to you, but I don't need to resort to something that petty." He motioned at the unconscious man, "I know where your little restaurant is. That man was silently being pursued by Nekoma, he's someone who defected." 

Ukai raised his brow, "That's what he meant about the power shit he was pulling earlier." 

Nekomata nodded, "He's still fairly new. Just joined last year." 

Keishin sighed, better to get this over with so the man could leave already, "What do you want to talk about then?" 

"Your grandfather." 

Keishin stilled at that. "What about him?" 

"He's dying, Keishin. He wishes to see your new family." Nekomata had a pleading look on his face.

"No." Keishin applauded himself for his firm tone despite his mind going haywire, "I won't risk it." 

His grandfather was once the head of Karasuno before Daichi and Keishin was supposed to take over him before Sawamura but obviously, Keishin refused.

His grandfather raised Keishin in the Syndicate, something that he never wanted to happen with Yachi. 

"He's _dying_ , Keishin. He's on his deathbed. Please grant him his last wish, even just a day will do." Nekomata sighed into his palm, "I know you don't want anything to do with us now, with any of the faction, that's why we sent him to the country, where it's peaceful." 

Keishin gaped at the old man, "Country? He never wanted to live there!" 

"People change, Keishin. You did too, remember?" Nekomata directed his cat-like gaze at him, and despite all these years, it still gave Keishin chills. "He misses you terribly." 

Ukai swallowed a lump that formed in his throat, "I.." 

_What would Ittetsu say?_

"I'll think about it." 

* * *

Hinata hummed as he walked. 

His mind kept flashing the face of that disgusting man, and it almost tampered down his mood, but at the same time he kept remembering the relieved face of the girl, the way she thanked him, the fact that she was safe now. 

Hinata entered McDonald's, deciding that he'd order a sundae and nuggets. He went straight to the counter, realizing that there were a lot of people in the establishment that time. 

"Ah.. I forgot it's only a little bit after lunch time.." Hinata murmured to himself, going straight in a queue to order, he just hoped he could get a seat after though. 

While on the queue, he noticed that the guy in front of him was tall, probably only a few centimetres shorter than Tsukki himself, and he had kind of wavy black hair that looked soft to the touch. 

He didn't even notice that he was staring at the guy's head, and the man tilted his head to the side, and as if seeing Hinata in his peripheral vision, his chocolate gaze met bluish-green ones. 

_His eyes are so pretty.._ Thought Hinata. 

Those pretty eyes widened a bit upon seeing Hinata and his orange hair, and the man slightly froze, Hinata noticed, and it took a few moments for Hinata's mind to process what he was doing. 

"A-ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to stare, your eyes are just so pretty!" Shouyou could feel a blush forming on his cheeks due to embarrassment, now that he snapped out of it, he realized that not only was his eyes were pretty, his whole being was. 

The guy's black hair perfectly complemented the soft but sharp features of his face, from his beautiful sea-colored eyes, to his perfectly pointed nose, to the full and pink lips, paired with high cheekbones that made him look elegant. 

Hinata forgot that he was in a line and there were other people around him, who let out a few chuckles with his words. 

Hinata flushed even more. 

The beautiful man blinked at him, and Hinata feared that he might have offended the guy already until he let out a chuckle of his own, sounding all regal. 

"It's quite fine.. And thank you, for the compliment." The man spoke, his voice soft and his tone kind. Hinata felt his body relax even just a bit. 

_This guy, he radiates so much kindness.._

They didn't even notice that it was the man's turn to order already, so the pretty-faced male ordered eloquently (though it might just be Hinata's mind still mesmerized by the guy's beauty). Hinata took note that the male ordered for two, meaning that he was with someone.

They didn't talk any further after that up to when the guy's orders were given to him, and it was Hinata's turn to order. The man turned around, gave Hinata a smile before going off to the tables, leaving Hinata still slightly flushed. 

After ordering, Hinata's eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for an empty seat where he could eat his food, sadly there was no seat available for him. 

Hinata was thinking of just eating at home when a hand waved, taking his attention. 

His eyes widened when his gaze zeroed on the beautiful man from the queue, and his company, a man with silver and black hair. 

_The guy who looked like an owl from last night!_

* * *

Akaashi worriedly looked at his boss. 

The Heads' mini conference was over, and from the cheery mood that hung over Bokuto when it started it turned into a sad, dreary mood, probably caused not only by the failed assassination attempt, but also by Kuroo's words. 

_"Ah. There's a problem then." Kuroo's voice made Bokuto's smile drop. All the other heads perked up too._

_"Explain." Kita's voice was curt and impatient. How odd._

_"Since Dai said to approach Chibi-chan with Ukai not noticing, we can only try to engage with him after his work, which starts at ten in the morning, and ends at seven in the evening." Kuroo let out a sigh, "We might spook him if we approach him at nightfall, especially when we haven't gained his trust yet."_

_Ushijima withered, Oikawa clucked his tongue in annoyance and Bokuto whined._

_The cat's words made sense. They knew they were true._

_"We need to figure something out." Daichi groaned, losing his composure as he buried his face on his palms, Sugawara looked worriedly at the Crow head._

Needless to say, Bokuto almost threw a fit, something that he only did when he was in his lowest point, and Akaashi immediately offered to drive them to McDonald's, and think of a way to approach the kid. 

"Well, he's a delivery boy, we could order food from Ukai with a different address that Ukai won't suspect it's us." Bokuto suggested in the car. 

Yes, they could but.. 

"If we do that, we might not get to talk to him much because he's at work. But we could suggest that to the other heads." Akaashi politely answered, hoping it'd lift his boss' mood, even just a bit. 

"Kita and the kitty cats probably thought of that already." Bokuto grumbled. 

When Akaashi suggested McDonald's, he didn't exactly expect that the orange-head would come to them himself. 

It was quite a shock really, the way Hinata's striking orange hair stood out, but it didn't make him look like a clown or something, instead, it perfectly complimented his warm chocolate eyes. 

The boy was short and small, just like how Bokuto described him to be. He was also as cute as he imagined- no, he was cuter. 

His cuteness intensified when he suddenly blubbered about how pretty Akaashi's eyes were. With pink dusting his cheeks and his gaze darting back and forth from the ground back to Akaashi's face. 

Keiji guessed that he was really lucky, with the seats close to being all occupied, he and Bokuto had a table fit for four. 

So the moment Bokuto was within earshot, he said, "Bokuto-san, Hinata Shouyou's here. I'll pretend that I didn't know him prior to this. We'll ask him to sit with us." 

Bokuto owlishly blinked at him, unbelieving at first, but when he subtly nodded to where the carrot-top was, Bokuto's eyes brightened, his lips forming a grin as he started to get restless with excitement.

Soon enough, Hinata was searching for a place to sit, Akaashi waved his hand, gathering the little one's attention. Hinata's gaze landed on him, then flitted to Bokuto who was grinning beside him. 

Slowly, Hinata made his way to them, slightly gaping as he looked at the both of them. 

"Uhm.." Hinata's voice was really cute. 

"You're Hinata, right? You can sit with me and 'Kaashi!" Bokuto beamed at the orange-head, whose lips slowly melted into a smile. 

"Can I..?" The voice was light, airy and really adorable. 

"Of course." Akaashi said with a soothing smile, Bokuto could barely contain his excitement as Hinata placed his food on the table and sat across them. 

"I'm Hinata Shouyou." The orange-head grinned at them, his face lighting up. 

Akaashi knew why Bokuto and the others were immediately smitten. 

Hinata Shouyou was sunshine itself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii! I'm not so sure of this chapter honestly, but the fourth chapter is in the works and I'm having so much fun writing it!
> 
> Thanks for all the warm comments everyone~
> 
> I'll be posting mini teasers on my twitter! Let's be friends thereee


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! We broke over 500 kudos now! I'm freaking cryingggg, you guys are awesome. Thank you.
> 
> Also this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, only 3.6k words, but I still hope you enjoy!
> 
> This chapter is beta-read by @BrownieQueen!

"Yeah! So I stopped the guy from doing something cruel and stupid! He did try to punch me though, but Ukai-san, our manager, stopped him in time! He was all _gwaah!_ And then, _woosh!"_ Bokuto couldn't even bring himself to fawn over Hinata's adorable gestures. "And to answer your first ever question, Bokuto-san, yes, my hair is naturally orange, my mom had orange hair, my sister too." 

Bokuto couldn't even appreciate that his question about Hinata's peculiar hair was finally answered. 

Because someone had tried to hurt Hinata, someone who said he had _power_ over _his_ city. 

Koutarou was sure that even the usually calm and composed Kita would lose his shit once he heard about what happened to Hinata. He almost shuddered at the thought, Kita was really creepy when mad. 

"What happened next?" Bokuto nearly winced at the deadly tone that bled with his worried voice; he really hoped it didn't spook little Hinata. He felt a hand softly taking his own under a table, it was a silent reminder that 'Kaashi was there with him. 

"Uh.. Men came, fancy, rich-looking ones, they kinda reminded me of you, Bokuto-san." Both men froze at that, thankfully Hinata was preoccupied with his nuggets that he didn't notice. 

"Oh? Maybe they were businessmen, Hinata-kun." Akaashi's voice was calm and soothing as he took a piece of fry. 

Hinata hummed, his mouth filled with chicken nuggets, looking as if he was thinking of something before shrugging his shoulders. 

Bokuto couldn't comprehend why such simple gestures looked so goddamn adorable when Hinata did them. It was like he was the embodiment of cuteness itself. 

Judging from the rare fond look on Keiji's eyes and the soft smile on his face, he was very much smitten too. 

"I think they took the man," Hinata spoke up, "They didn't look like policemen, but I sure do hope that the man won't be able to do anything terrible to anyone ever again."

Koutarou smiled and nodded, "I hope so too, Shouyou." 

_Though the people you'll meet soon do much worse than that bastard did. I'm sure the others won't try to hurt you and your brother._ Thought Koutarou. 

Bokuto, as the heir of Fukurodani, had always been followed by violence and ill intent, hell, he even witnessed how his mother was brutally murdered in her garden back when he was still a child. As he grew up, his father ensured that he'd be able to defend himself, and made him master all the skills needed to join Karasuno and Aoba Johsai, the factions that specialized in offense and brutality. 

He knew the skills, yet he never once had put them into use. 

Konoha, Washio, and sometimes Akaashi would do the dirty, bloody work for him. 

"Oh! Do you guys always go to McDonald's?" Hinata asked suddenly, his gaze going back and forth between two men. 

"No, actually, this is only my second time eating here.." Bokuto let out a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head with one hand, Akaashi only smiled at that. 

"You mean this branch of McDonald's?" Hinata blinked at Bokuto, head tilting a bit to the side. 

"No.."

"Eh?!" 

"Well, you see.." Koutarou took a piece of nugget in hopes of concealing the sad tone of his voice, "I've never been allowed to go outside much as a kid, and when I got older to be considered as an adult, I got busy with work." Bokuto chose to ignore the worried glance Keiji sent his way. 

"What do you do for work?" The carrot-top looked genuinely curious. 

_I can't exactly tell him I supply weapons illegally.._

"Hmm.. Do you know the big, gray tower near the city center? The one bigger than any tower there." Koutarou drew the tower’s shape with his fingertips, watching in delight as Hinata's eyes grew bright in recognition. 

"Yeah!" Hinata chirped, "You work there?! That's sooo cool!" 

"It's mine, actually." The Owl head had a self-satisfied smile on his face at the way Hinata's jaw slacked, eyes going wide with shock and amazement. 

"Hah?! Is that true, Akaashi-san?" Hinata immediately whipped his head towards his secretary, who chuckled at the sun-child. 

"Yes.. Though he rarely goes there, the vice president of the company is usually the one who's doing his own work there, Bokuto-san has his own office in his place." Akaashi informed, "I work as Bokuto-san's secretary." 

"You.." Hinata gaped openly at the two, his eyes filled with stars and was all shiny. Keiji and Koutarou swore that about ten Cupid's arrows pierced their hearts at the sight. "You two are so cool!" 

_I've heard that from other people before, but holy shit, hearing the words from Hinata is different!_ Bokuto clutched at his chest where his throbbing heart was, his face heating up at the intensity and sincerity the little one's words held. 

Bokuto was stunned as 'Kaashi's hands darted out and lovingly pinched the sun-child's soft cheeks. His eyes widened further when an airy giggle escaped Keiji's lips, and Hinata only beamed up at his bespectacled secretary. 

_I think I just fell in love even more, with the both of them._

While cupping Hinata's cheeks, Keiji turned to Bokuto, his hands guiding the orange-head's face to his direction too. 

"Let's go to an arcade, Bokuto-san, you've never been in one, haven't you?" Keiji's soft, beautiful voice called out to him, his bluish-green eyes sparkling with mirth the same way Hinata's eyes did as a smile settled on his lips. 

_Ah, how could I ever say no to that?_

* * *

Akaashi watched as the two brightest suns he ever had the honor to meet in his entire life so far openly gaped at the life-filled place he led them into. 

Amazement and awe filled the two's eyes, and he couldn't help but feel proud at the fact that he was the one who had thought of the brilliant idea of going to the arcades. It was like hitting three birds with one stone.

First of all, he had always planned on bringing Bokuto in this place because he wasn't allowed to visit arcades as a kid, not that he could blame the former head with his actions. It was too dangerous for Bokuto to roam around these places freely, and the silver-and-black-haired male probably wouldn't enjoy his time surrounded by at least a dozen huge and burly bodyguards.

Second, they needed to gain Hinata's trust, so that they could freely visit him and talk to him some other time (and he's determined as hell to try to be with him all the time that they weren't busy with work). 

Third, nothing could beat the way Hinata and Bokuto's faces lit up at the sight of various game machines and weird contraptions, all waiting for them to explore. _Nothing--_ Well, maybe the sight of the people who tried to assassinate Bokuto-san all beaten up and bloodied could be better, but he'd have to try to see it first. 

"The arcades here are so much bigger than the one back at Miyagi!" Hinata looked like he'd burst with excitement. He was bouncing on his feet, head whipping in all directions where fancy colors and unique sounds would get his attention, his eyes were wide and were taking in the full view of the arcade from the entrance. 

While Bokuto's gaze darted from all over the place and back to Hinata, his fingers pointed at anything he found interesting (which was everything, to be honest). The taller male tugged lightly on Hinata's sleeves to gain his attention, and the carrot-top graciously gave his unbridled focus on anything Bokuto pointed out. It was adorable really, and Akaashi couldn't help but sneakily snap a photo of the two with his phone (that, luckily for him, had the clearest and most magnificent phone camera to date). 

"I-" Bokuto breathed out, "I didn't know such heaven existed.. I don't even know how these things work!" He looked excitedly at Akaashi, and the black-haired male smiled back, "Can we try it all..?" 

"Oh, please tell us we'd get to try it all Akaashi-san!" Hinata looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

_Of fucking course, there's no doubt we will, you two didn't really need to ask, but if you'd look like that when asking, then please, be my guest and ask away._ Akaashi couldn't bring himself to chide himself at the silly thought. _We're supposed to be Syndicate members, I guess we're really ruining the aesthetic of it, but fuck it._ Akaashi shook himself out of his thoughts and nodded at the two. 

"Of course. Let's go." Akaashi outstretched both his hands to the two, like a mother calling to his husband and child. 

Bokuto grasped his hand right away, while Hinata's mood suddenly shifted, his body drooping. 

"What?" 

"Hinata?" 

Both owls looked worriedly at the sun-child, who only looked up at them sheepishly.

"Ah.. I think I can't join you two.." Akaashi's eyes narrowed, Bokuto tensed beside him. 

"Why?" Bokuto asked sharply. 

"Well.. I don't have that much money with me.." The carrot-top laughed nervously, "I only just started my delivery job last week, and well, I haven't even gotten paid yet." Hinata fiddled with his thumbs then quickly gave a curt bow to them. "I think I'll pass for now, but please enjoy your time!" 

Hinata was all ready to dart away from them (Akaashi thought the little one was probably embarrassed), but Bokuto had already taken hold of his wrist, making Shouyou look up at him with his chocolate-honey eyes confused. 

"I'm the CEO of my own company, remember? You don't have to worry about it." His boss said gently, Keiji nodded at the sun-child, he'd even give half his pay if Hinata suddenly demanded it if it meant he'd come along. 

"Eh?! Nonono! All the games here probably cost more than usual, based on all the high-quality prizes, so-" The orange-head repeatedly shook his head. 

"I can buy the place then. Then it won't cost anything for games because it'll all belong to me." Bokuto said in all seriousness. Keiji struggled to hold back a laugh. 

"That's not how it works!" Hinata let out a sound that reminded Keiji of a crow. 

"What do you mean? It works exactly like that." It was now Bokuto's turn to tilt his head like an owl, very true to his moniker. 

Keiji couldn't stop the doubling over, his hearty laugh spilling out of his mouth at the exchange of the two. 

He was sure that both were looking at him with bewildered expressions, and somehow that made him laugh even more. 

"Keiji?" 

"Akaashi-san?" 

It took a few more moments before Akaashi could at least calm down from his laughing fit, and when he did, he had a few stray tears on his eyes. The two only looked at him worriedly. 

"I.." Akaashi let out a chuckle, he couldn't help it, "You two sounded like father and son, it was so adorable." Akaashi offered the two his smile, making Bokuto beam and Hinata blush, sputtering unintelligible words. 

Keiji turned to Hinata, "Alright, come with us," he cut Hinata off before he could even open his mouth to protest, "You can pay Bokuto-san back by buying him a McDonald's meal next time you're free." 

There, he just ensured that Hinata would hang out with them once more. Akaashi mentally applauded himself. 

Bokuto grinned at him approvingly, while Hinata seemed to mull over his words, "Isn't it a bit unbalanced? I'm sure-" It seemed like Hinata truly was an angel, he didn't want to take advantage of their kindness, how lovable. 

"I'm not taking a 'no' for an answer." Akaashi injected a tone of finality in his voice, the one he used with complicated clients. 

"Okay then.. I'll buy you two meals, like the most expensive meals on McDonald's, on my payday." Hinata nodded, his lips curling into a sweet, promising smile. 

"Great! Now let's go! I wanna go try that one with a steering wheel? Why is there a steering wheel?" Bokuto pointed on the racing game machine. 

"Oh! Tsukki and I loved that!" 

"Come, Akaashi!" And then Keiji was tugged by the two. Not that he minded. 

* * *

" _Gwah!_ I'm not gonna lose!" Hinata's eyes flared with competitiveness. 

Bokuto laughed, even though he had never played that game before, he still wouldn't stand losing. "Ha! I'd like to see you try to beat me!" 

The Owl head turned to his secretary, "But 'Kaashi, how about you? It's only for two players." 

Akaashi hummed, his phone ready to take a video of the two playing, "Oh, don't mind me. Go ahead and have fun." 

"Okay then, let's switch later." 

The two sat on the cushioned chair that was styled like a racing car's seat, their hands grasping the steering wheel, their feet positioned on the fake brakes and accelerator as they gazed at the screen where their virtual car was positioned in the starting line, revving up to life as the countdown started. 

_Three.. Two.. One.. Go!_

Hinata let out a laugh as soon as the virtual race started, maneuvering his steering wheel with ease. Bokuto wasn't too far behind, and Akaashi knew that his boss had great skills in driving, so he won't lose to Hinata's experience in playing the game. 

Akaashi took a video of the two laughing and making exaggerated movements while steering their wheels, the secretary chuckling at the sight. 

Bokuto and Hinata played against each other almost ten times, with Hinata winning six rounds compared to Bokuto's four wins. 

Akaashi played against each of them, winning each round that he played with a triumphant smile. 

"We won't lose next time!" Hinata and Bokuto exclaimed, eyes determined. 

Then they moved to shooting games, because apparently Hinata was really good at it. 

"I'll beat you two in this game!" The shorter male had his fist clenched, up and ready for a challenge. 

The two only laughed, _Well.. I'm not so sure about that, my skills are at par with Daichi and Oikawa's._ Bokuto thought to himself. 

_I'll go easy on you, Shouyou, because I can't really tell you that I have actual experience on sniping someone, right? Though it only happened twice._ Akaashi just smiled and ruffled the soft orange hair of the male, who was all ready to _'beat_ ' them. 

"H-how are you guys so easily shooting every enemy?!" Hinata looked panicked as he shot an enemy on his chest then next on his head. Akaashi and Bokuto got either straight headshots or they killed the virtual enemy with just one shot. 

Bokuto hummed, focusing on eliminating all his enemies, "Practiced archery when I was a kid." 

"I used to work part-time here, when I was fourteen, I was an attendant, and I helped a few people back then in winning games, I got used to it." Akaashi answered, it wasn't a lie, he did use to work in that arcade as a means to earn money before, but it wasn't the entire reason why he was easily shooting off virtual enemies. 

"Wait, you did?!" Bokuto whipped his head towards Keiji's direction. Keiji only nodded, "I've done a lot of part-time jobs before." 

"Ah! I'm gonna die soon!" Hinata's panicked voice made the two owls turn to him, immediately shooting at the virtual bastard that dared harm the sun-child and eliminating it. 

_Huh, I wonder who'd be foolish enough to hurt Hinata. I sure do hope there's none, well, other than that bastard earlier, but.._ Bokuto recalled Hinata's words, _Someone from the Syndicate took care of the piece of shit, so it's probably fine now. If someone would ever try to do it again though.._

Bokuto mercilessly shot at one enemy, its blood virtually splattering on the screen, a self-satisfied look that Hinata didn't notice formed on his face, _He'd wish he was dead and hell would pale in comparison._

* * *

"Woah! Look at that cute crow plushie!" The two owls' gazes landed on the claw machine, which was ironically filled with plushies. 

_Plushies that represented the Syndicate. What a coincidence._

Hinata ran towards the machine and Bokuto and Keiji followed, their lips quirking up at the funny coincidence. Maybe it was a sign that Hinata would join them? Akaashi wasn't sure if he liked the idea or not. 

"They're so cute! Ah, it's probably hard to get them-" 

"I'll get you one, Shouyou. Which one do you like?" Bokuto asked, his golden eyes looking straight at the Hinata's chocolate ones. _I hope Hinata chooses the owl._ Thought Bokuto. 

"Bokuto-san, it's really hard to get one-" Akaashi warned. Bokuto had never once tried a claw machine, he didn't know how frustrating it was. 

"I'll get it." repeated Bokuto, unhindered. 

"Uh.. The crow, it's so cute.. Its color reminds me of my black volleyball jersey from high school." Hinata answered hesitantly, instantly earning a nod from Bokuto. 

"Alright then." 

* * *

"Akaashi! I'm buying this whole machine! Can we just break the glass and get the crow?" Bokuto had his eyebrows pinched, gaze darting back and forth from the machine and to Akaashi. Keiji only gave a small smile, while Hinata, upon hearing Bokuto's words, panicked. 

"Eh?! Wait! It's fine! You don't have to get me anything! It's actually really hard to get those prizes so it's-" 

"It's not fine, Hinata! You said it reminded you of your high school, right? You told me earlier that you love your time as a high schooler, I want to give you the crow that reminds you of something good!" Whined Bokuto. Akaashi only sighed, he didn't want to unleash his hidden skills but he had no choice. 

"Bokuto-san-" 

"Keiji, where's the owner of this place? Let me-" 

"No, Koutarou." Bokuto stilled at the use of his first name, eyes blinking at Akaashi in a confused manner. 

"Eh?" 

"Move. Let me try something." Bokuto did as he said and so did Hinata, letting Akaashi take his place, his nimble fingers grasping the controller of the claw, while his other hand shoved a token in the machine for him to play. 

"You want the crow, right?" Akaashi asked the carrot-top. 

"..yeah.."

Keiji hummed, his focus turned to the stupid and stubborn claw machine and its cute--but not as cute as Hinata--prizes. He maneuvered the controller with precision, his eyes narrowed as he focused and moved the claw with precision. When he thought that the angle and position of the claw was good enough, he pressed the red button that made the claw descend on the prizes. 

The three watched with bated breath as the claw went down on the crow, its fingers placing a hold on the round plush. 

"Please.. Please.." Hinata whispered as the claw tightened its hold on the plush and slowly lifted it up. Good, now if it could only make it on the drop-off point safely.. 

"How..?" Bokuto watched in amazement as the claw slowly moved, the plush not falling from it until… 

"Yes!" Hinata bounced on his feet as the crow fell on the hole. 

_Akaashi Keiji did another thing perfectly. Is there anything he can't do?_ Bokuto smiled as he watched Keiji take the crow from the machine, handing it to Hinata with a triumphant smile. _Yup, I love him alright._

"Thank you so much, Akaashi-san!" Hinata held the plush with such gentleness and awe, stars in his eyes as he marveled at it. "So cute…"

"Not as cute as you are." Keiji said with his charming smile, making Hinata flush, settling to bury his face on the plush to hide his embarrassment. 

"Now. Let's get all the others." Akaashi announced with a smile, Bokuto only laughed as a squawk-like sound escaped Hinata once more. 

"All?!" 

* * *

Hanamaki tugged on Matsukawa's sleeve, earning a questioning hum. 

"Issei." Takahiro tugged on his partner's sleeves harder, now earning a grunt. 

"What?" Mattsun didn't take his gaze away from his shooting game. 

"Fucking look, Issei or I swear I'll poke your eyes out." Makki whispered, finally making Issei look at what Makki was pointing at. 

Or most likely, to _who_ he was pointing at. 

"Is that Bokuto?" Issei instantly forgot about his game, now that was a sight, the rich heir was out in public? Without guards at that. 

"That's Akaashi, so yeah, that's Bokuto." Makki didn't remove his stare on the Fukurodani head and his trusted assistant. 

The two Seijoh knights were familiar with the dark-haired owl, after all, it was Akaashi who mostly faced Fukurodani's clients. 

"Who's the shorty?" Issei asked, Makki didn't even notice the shorter male with-- _what the hell, is that natural orange hair?_

"Wait a fucking minute. Is that the Hinata Shouyou kid?" Hanamaki whispered, immediately shoving Issei out of the owls' possible line of sight. 

"What the hell? Why are we hiding?" Issei had his eyebrows pinched, his gaze questioning. Makki ignored him. 

"Holy shit, I think that's Hinata Shouyou." Makki observed the carrot-top, eyes widening at how Akaashi gave the kid the owl plush he just won from the claw machine. The orange-head proudly presented the owl to the Owl head himself. 

"Who?" 

"Hinata Shouyou- Iwaizumi said that Oikawa met someone with orange hair that instantly caught every Head's attention and interest." explained Makki. 

"Even Ushijima?" 

" _Especially_ Ushijima." 

"Woah." 

"Yeah, woah." 

Makki tugged on Issei's sleeves once more, making Mattsun swat away his hand. 

"Tsk. Let's go, I'm sure Oikawa would love to hear about this." Makki rubbed his hand, walking away from the scene and towards the exit, Issei following closely. 

"Huh. How curious.." Issei took one last glance of the smiling carrot-top, before leaving the arcade silently and undetected. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it wasn't too boring for you~
> 
> See you soon,
> 
> Kazu.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii! Here is the update! I'm trying to update as much as I can while I'm still not fully busy, so here, enjoy~
> 
> Also, belated Happy Birthday to Tsukki!

Hurried footsteps echoing against the floor could be heard in the hallways of the Bokuto mansion. 

Bokuto had this uncharacteristically serious and frantic look on his face as Akaashi, who looked like he was punching himself mentally over and over again, followed the large steps of his boss, Konoha, who seemed equally worried was next to Akaashi. 

"Is it all set up already?" Bokuto asked, his tone dripping with worry, a bit breathless by how quick he was walking. Why was his place so goddamn big anyway? 

"Yes. All you need is to go there and sit." Konoha answered, only to receive a hum of appreciation. 

Slamming open the door to his office, Bokuto hastily took his seat. With his laptop all set up for the emergency meeting, Konoha bowed at Bokuto. Akaashi also gave him a polite bow and murmured his thanks. After all, he was still just an assistant, Konoha was still the second-in-command. 

"Tell me what happens later," Konoha whispered close to Keiji's ear, and the assistant gave him a nod and a tight smile; he couldn't blame the male for being curious.

Bokuto and Akaashi just finished a singing session that lasted for an hour in one of the arcade’s KTV rooms. The three had an absolute blast and were surrounded by six plushies; a fox, a crow, an eagle, a cat, an owl, and the odd one out, a crown. 

Keiji's laughter ceased when he finally fished for his phone (that was borderline dying already after all the videos he took) after the singing session, and found Konoha's sixty-five messages and thirty missed calls. The assistant immediately asked his boss to lend him his phone (that also had the same texts and messages from Konoha) and called the Owls' second-in-command. 

Keiji distanced himself from Hinata, something that the carrot-top definitely noticed, but Bokuto said that it was a matter at work; Keiji hated how horror-filled Hinata's eyes upon hearing the words. 

_"Are you in trouble because you skipped work?"_ Hinata asked Bokuto, who tried his best to hide his worry, _"No! We already finished today's work… It must be a different issue.."_

Keiji tapped his foot in an unknown rhythm as he dialed Konoha's number; Konoha immediately picked up. 

**_"Fucking finally!"_ **Konoha's loud voice made Keiji wince. 

_"What happened?"_ Akaashi asked, his tone worried yet still holding the proper respect for the second-in-command. 

**_"The Heads called for an emergency meeting, through video, of course, but.."_ **Konoha's voice trailed off.. 

_But this only happens if the stability of the Syndicate is threatened._

_"Understood. We'll be home immediately."_ Keiji heard a sigh of relief from Konoha. Akaashi hung up, turning around and meeting the questioning golden gaze of his boss. 

_"Emergency meeting."_ Were the only words Akaashi said but Bokuto immediately understood. 

Akaashi led the two out of the arcade, Hinata holding a new, medium-sized tote bag with all his plushies and other prizes in it. The sun-child had given them worried looks on their way out, but both owls assured Hinata that they'd be fine. 

_"Okay, can you give me your number?"_ Keiji asked the little one, who nodded eagerly. Keiji and Hinata exchanged numbers while Bokuto couldn't help but pace around. 

_"Will you two be alright?"_ Hinata asked in a sweet, worried tone of his. Keiji gave him a reassuring smile, ruffling the sun-child's soft hair, _"Of course, we'll call you later."_

Akaashi and Bokuto hurriedly went home, their minds racing as to what could possibly have happened that was so urgent that the Heads called for a meeting. 

Now, Bokuto had sat down and joined the Heads’ video conference, Akaashi took his position and stood straight behind Bokuto, trying his best to keep his worry from showing on his face. 

The loading time as they joined the call seemed to take hours, though it only took mere seconds in reality. The apprehension of the two thickened the atmosphere in the room; Keiji found himself struggling to breathe. 

_If something terrible happened, and we weren't there because we were with Hinata.._

Keiji grimaced at the thought. He wanted to push it away; however, he knew he couldn't. It was a big possibility after all. 

The screen finally flashed the other Heads' faces, who all looked serious and brooding. 

"What happened? Toshi? Kuroo?" Bokuto asked, his tone bleeding with worry, "Did something happen to your factions? Or was it on the smaller ones? Did Jozenji's casinos get attacked? Did someone breach our borders and Dateko couldn't stop them?" 

Koutarou's breath hitched, "Did someone die?" 

Akaashi pursed his lips at how none of the Heads answered and only kept looking like someone had the biggest fuck-up in the Syndicate history. 

"C'mon! What the hell? You guys don't call an emergency meeting for nothing! Something must've happened!" Bokuto's whine was followed by a gasp, "Don't tell me you won't be taking weapons from Fukurodani from now on?!" 

Oikawa leaned on his palm, looking at Bokuto through the screen, "Hmm. I think _you_ have something to share with us, Bokkun." the King's tone was teasing, but despite only talking through a video call, Akaashi could see the dangerous glint in his eyes.

Bokuto blinked owlishly, taken back by Oikawa’s words, "Me? I didn't call for a meeting, you guys did." 

Oikawa clucked his tongue, Iwaizumi was behind him, looking worried, "Bokkun.." 

Akaashi's eyebrows pinched, _what does Oikawa mean.._ Akaashi's expression morphed into realization, _Don't tell me-_

"You were with little Hinata, were you not?" Kita asked with his tone slightly teasing, he had this rare small smile on his face, despite that, Keiji could feel a shiver go down his spine. He hoped the Fox head wasn't angry. 

_There is absolutely no reason to be angry, but it's Hinata.. So I can quite understand now._ Keiji thought to himself as Bokuto once again blinked at his fellow Heads. 

"Wait- This is only about _Hinata_?!" 

"This is not _'only'_ Bokuto! Oikawa said you went to the arcades with him?" Ushijima had an accusing tone. 

"Yes. Keiji and I did go to the arcades with him, Shouyou had a rough day!" The Owl head tried to defend himself, the other Heads all looked ready to argue now. 

"Oh? You're on a first-name basis with him now?!" Oikawa pointed a finger on Bokuto, "That's cheating! We weren't supposed to approach him until we figured out how to not spook him! You cheated Bokkun!" 

"Wait- did you say he had a rough day?" Daichi asked worriedly, the other Heads who opened their mouths to say something stilled, looking at Bokuto in horror. 

"Did something happen to him?" Ushijima had a threatening tone to him. 

"Some bastard went to Ukai's restaurant and caused trouble, the piece of shit said that he had _power_ over _our_ city." The Heads tensed at the Owl's words, "Someone from one of the factions took him though, I don't know who." 

"Who is the bastard?" Oikawa was seething as he spat out the words. Iwaizumi murmured something that the mic didn't pick up that made Oikawa take a few calming breaths. "It's not only because of Chibi-chan, but I'm also fucking furious because he brandished his nonexistent power in our territory, it's a blatant act of disrespect that needs to be punished to set an example." 

Kita nodded in agreement, his fist visibly clenched. 

Daichi spoke up,"It happened in Ukai's restaurant? Fuck." He let out a ragged sigh, "The man's trying to live peacefully with his family now. He doesn't deserve to have his peace disturbed." 

"Now that you mentioned it," Ushijima addressed the Crow head, "Are you sure that none of the Syndicate's secrets will spill out of that man's mouth? He did grow up in Karasuno after all." 

Daichi gave a hard stare at the Shiratorizawa head, "I'm sure. That man trained me as much as his grandfather did, despite his decision, he loves Karasuno." Dachi showed a bitter smile, "It's just that he loves his newfound family more. I respect that." 

Ushijima raised a brow, suddenly remembering the man he once called _'father,'_ "If you say so." 

Kuroo was silent for a few moments as if trying to remember something, "Inuoka!" The Cat called out to his guard outside his door, a door opening could be heard. "Where's Nekomata-sensei?"

_"Weeding out pests, Kuroo-san. I think he mentioned that he might visit someone too."_ The words were barely picked up by the mic. Kuroo turned to his fellow leaders. 

"It's Nekomata-sensei who took the guy. It's probably someone who foolishly defected. We Cats will give him the _warmest_ welcome back party once he gets here." The Cat had a cruel glint in his cat-like eyes as he grinned at the camera. "Now, back to the carrot-top." 

It took a few moments, but the atmosphere seemed to ease up at the mention of Hinata Shouyou. Bokuto was bombarded with questions and whines from Oikawa, who kept on blabbing about how they all agreed to keep their distance with Hinata first. 

"Well, 'Kaashi and I didn't really plan to bump into him, you know?" Bokuto said with a smile, turning to Akaashi, "Keiji bumped into him when he was ordering our meals in McDonald's!" 

Keiji gave an affirming nod, "He was behind me in line, and it turned out that there was no free space for him to sit in, we asked him to sit with us." 

"Okay, but how did you three end up playing at the arcades though?" Daichi asked, his eyes unbelieving. 

"Wait, does that mean that you three had talked and became friends already?" Oikawa asked with a pout, "I wanted to be the first one to have Chibi-chan!" 

"It was all a coincidence, really." Koutarou grinned smugly, "Keiji and I were really lucky." 

_I'm not telling them that I got Hinata's number._ Keiji thought to himself, chuckling at the possessive thought. 

"He's a great dancer!" Bokuto bragged, remembering the dance battles he had with Hinata and how the carrot-top easily moved his body, "He also has a great voice! It's adorable, he likes pop songs." 

Ushijima's eyes narrowed while Oikawa harrumphed, "Iwa-chan, should we kidnap Chibi-chan?" 

Iwaizumi snorted a laugh, rolling his eyes that held amusement in them, "No, Tooru." 

"Tell us more," Kita demanded with a small smile, the others nodded in agreement. 

The next two hours were spent gushing about how adorable and lovable Hinata Shouyou was. 

* * *

Keishin paced in their bedroom, Takeda looked at him worriedly. 

"Keishin.." 

Ukai glanced at Ittetsu with a grimace, "I don't know what to do.." 

Takeda stood up, taking even steps towards his troubled partner; he gently took his hand in his and led them to the bed, making Ukai sit down beside him. 

"Did you like your time in Karasuno?" Takeda asked as he massaged Ukai's right hand with nimble fingers. Keishin let out a sigh, his gaze softened as he looked at Ittetsu. 

"Yeah.. It was bloody, nerve-wracking, and stressful, but I.. Liked it.." Ukai admitted, his heart beating fast at the thought of Takeda recoiling away from him because of his words. He thought his heart would stop there and then if that happened. 

"Hmm, I'm sure, since you did grow up there, and your grandfather raised you well." Takeda didn't meet Ukai's gaze, but his tone was warm, reassuring. It calmed Ukai and at the same time, made him want to weep at just how lucky he was for Ittetsu. 

"I'm sure it was hard when you were forced to choose over me and Yacchan or the Crows.. But.. Former Crow Head or not, your grandfather was the one who raised you, and he's _dying,_ Keishin." Itettsu finally raised his head, his charcoal eyes that held compassion met Keishin's tearful ones (he didn't even realize that he was tearing up). 

"If you miss this chance, you'll never have it again. _Never._ " Warm hands cupped Keishin's cheeks, wiping away the tears that betrayed him and were now falling down, "Think about it.. Yacchan and I will support you whatever you choose." 

* * *

Hinata got out of the bus, giving a thankful smile to the driver who smiled back at him. 

Walking towards the restaurant as he hummed, Hinata reminded himself that he needed to have the bike's wheel fixed on the upcoming weekend to go back to delivering for Ukai. He got lucky that Ukai still let him work and help out. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and Hinata fished for it, flipping it open, he saw a text from Akaashi, who told him to have a great day at work. 

He typed out a _'thank you, you too! (^o^)'_ with a smile, before putting back the phone in his pocket. 

_This is gonna be a great day, nothing like what happened two days ago!_ Hinata proclaimed in his mind, pushing away the thoughts of the incident with the man. 

He entered the restaurant with a smile, giving out his greetings to Narita and Kinoshita. Ukai and Takeda left the kitchen, turning to all of the workers with a serious look on their faces. 

"We're gonna close up the shop at five o'clock in the afternoon, then we have something to tell after work," Ukai announced before motioning for them to go to work. Soon enough, customers came filing in.

-

Hinata gaped at the white, small envelope that was given to him. He already glanced at the contents but he still couldn't believe it. 

"Ukai-san?" Kinoshita glanced at their manager and chef, who was seated beside each other. "This is our pay, but it isn't payday yet.." 

"Are we getting fired? All of us?" Narita asked in horror. Hinata blanched and glanced at their employers, his palms going clammy at the scary thought of getting fired two weeks into a job. 

"No. You're not getting fired." Takeda spoke gently, the three let out sighs of relief, "It's just that Keishin, Yacchan and I will be taking a sudden vacation in the countryside to visit a relative." 

Hinata's mouth formed an 'o' then a squeak escaped him, "But! You gave me a full-pay! I've only worked here for two weeks!" Hinata tried to give back the envelope containing the money, but Takeda shook his head, a chuckle came from Ukai too. 

"Take it, Hinata-kun. Think of it as a reward for saving the girl two days ago." Itettsu motioned at the three, "Now, we think we'll take at least a month's vacation because Yacchan and I have never met Keishin's grandfather and we'd like to spend a bit more time with him. I apologize if it's all sudden but you three still have a job to come back to here." 

"Oh.. Well, safe travels then! We look forward to you three coming back!" The three bowed their appreciation. 

-

"Hinata, will you look for a part-time job while the restaurant's closed?" Kinoshita asked as they exited the restaurant. Hinata pulled a thinking face, his eyebrows pinching together. 

"I think so, I don't want to be cooped up inside for a month, and I'd like to earn extra money for my older brother's birthday gift." Hinata stared off at the city’s busy roads, with numerous cars buzzing about, people walked the streets, some were on their phone, some had company, and some were alone, all of them were in their own tiny world. 

It amazed Hinata at how everyone perceives the world differently and wondered how he was perceived by people around him. 

"The city's always buzzing, isn't it?" Narita asked with a laugh, "Sometimes it's too much buzz for me. I think I'll take a break while the restaurant's closed up; it sounds good to relax a bit. My pay could last me a month anyway." Narita turned to Kinoshita and Hinata, "See you around Hinata, and you, Kino, visit my apartment sometimes!" 

"Yeah yeah, unlike you, I need a job, I have a dog to feed." Kinoshita started walking towards the direction of his apartment, "See you!" 

"Bye!" Hinata waved his goodbyes to the two, walking towards the bus stop. 

_Hmm, I can have my bike fixed tomorrow, then I'll look for any job I could scour._

* * *

Hinata still couldn't believe that Ukai gave him a full-pay despite him working for only two weeks, "I guess they have money to spare, huh.. Must be nice.." Hinata mumbled to himself as he arrived at the bus stop. A bus would arrive in a few minutes; he settled under the shade as the sun slowly set, bathing the towering buildings, trees and almost everything around Hinata with soft orange rays that resembled his hair. Hinata found it extremely beautiful. 

He fished for his phone, contacting Tsukki's number; the blond should be at work still. 

Hinata had his phone against his ear. As the phone dialed, his gaze swept over the people around him. A couple of what seemed like office workers, based on their formal attire. Though there was one who wore casual clothes. 

The male donned a black hoodie and plain gray sweatpants, his hood was down, and his hair went down until his shoulders, seemingly dyed blond but the roots were black. The guy was only a good few centimeters taller than Hinata, and was carrying a paper bag with a game shop logo. 

Hinata was about to tear his gaze away from the stranger when his chocolate eyes met the golden eyes of the stranger. Hinata tensed at the intensity of the guy's gaze; he felt like he was being studied from head to toe. The stranger's cat-like eyes widened for a fraction of a second before settling back to normal, and to Shouyou's surprise, the male smiled at him. 

Not wanting to be rude, he smiled back. The guy opened his mouth and was about to say something when Tsukki finally picked up, startling Hinata. 

**_"What's wrong?"_ ** Kei's voice filtered through the speaker. **_"Shouyou?"_ **

Hinata tore his gaze away from the stranger, pouring his focus to Tsukki, "Ah! Tsukki, I'm going home early, so I'll prepare dinner. What would you like?" Hinata cursed himself for the slightly shaky voice that he had (it was all the stranger's fault with his intense gaze). 

Hinata hoped Tsukki didn't pick up on it, but Tsukki being Tsukki, he did. 

**_"Are you in trouble? Why are you coming home early?"_ ** His brother's voice held worry now and it made Hinata groan a bit. 

"Ukai-san's gonna visit a relative, the restaurant's closed for a month, they sent us home early," Hinata spoke in a hushed tone, but the place was quiet enough even with a few people with him that it made his hushed voice still audible. 

**_"Did they fire you?"_ **Tsukki's question made Hinata let out the squawk-like sound he always makes whenever shocked, earning a few amused glances (he hoped the cat-eyed stranger didn't look at him the same way). 

"They didn't fire me!" Shouyou whispered on the phone, "I- well, I do need a job for a bit but Ukai-san didn't fire me! I'll start working for them again- Ugh. What do you want for dinner?" Hinata was blushing now. 

**_"So defensive."_ ** Tsukki chuckled, **_"Fine, I want onigiris."_ **

"Good, let's talk more later," Tsukki said a brief goodbye before Hinata ended the call. He put his phone back in his pocket and cupped his warm cheeks with his hands, hiding their pink hue.

The bus soon arrived and Hinata was the last to enter, rendering him with no other seating choice but beside the cat-eyed stranger. 

Hinata let out a small smile at the guy who only nodded a bit at him before he sat down, fiddling with his nails since his phone didn't have any games that he could use to amuse himself with. 

It really sucked that he didn't get to sit by the window, Maybe then he could have entertained himself with watching the passing buildings. 

_I wanna see Bokuto-san's tower.. Ah! I can't believe I made friends with someone like him and Akaashi-san. Must be a once in a lifetime experience._ Hinata mused to himself with a smile. 

Minutes into the ride, the guy beside him pulled a PSP from his bag and started to play a game that Shouyou was familiar with. 

Hinata's eyes widened as he was drawn into the game. It was a Role-playing game that he used to play on Tsukki's PSP when they were in high school; it was his absolute favorite. 

Hinata almost smacked himself as he was caught blatantly watching the game. He smiled sheepishly at the guy, who gave him a soft smile and spoke, "You can watch, I don't mind." 

Shouyou's jaw slacked at the soft voice of the stranger, he nodded, his gaze falling back into the game. 

_This is the second time Shou! Second time that he caught you staring, I'm an idiot._

Hinata focused on the game, which the stranger was losing by the way. 

"Hm.. Try attacking before his tail glows, if I remember correctly, while his tail's not glowing, he still can't attack." Hinata absent-mindedly told the stranger, earning a shocked expression from the guy. 

"Ah!" Hinata flushed, "I-uh.. I used to play that game, so.." 

"I see.." The stranger chuckled, "Thanks for the tip." 

Hinata blinked, "I'm Hinata Shouyou.." 

The guy didn't speak up for a bit until he successfully cleared the level, "I'm Kozume Kenma.." 

"Kenma.." Hinata whispered, testing the way the word rolled off his tongue. Kenma smiled, "Shouyou." 

Hinata glanced at the window, realizing that his stop was near, "Ah! I'm gonna get off soon." 

"You.. I overheard that you need a job?" Hinata turned to Kenma in surprise, a blush forming on his cheeks. 

"Uh.. Well.. I do, but only for a month." Mumbled Hinata while scratching the back of his head. 

Kenma pulled something from his pocket and gave it to Shouyou. Shouyou inspected the little rectangular paper that turned out to be a business card.

"I can get a job here..?" 

Kenma nodded, "You'll find a job there. Just give that card to the clerk, he'll know where to lead you." 

"Oh! Thank you, but.."

"Don't worry, you'll still have a mini interview, I just think you'll fit the job." Kenma gave him a small smile paired with the intense cat-like gaze, Hinata could only nod. 

Hinata couldn't say anything until his stop. Before he got off, he said a quick goodbye and thank you to Kenma, who waved at him. 

As Hinata walked to their apartment, he clutched the card in his right hand. 

"Nekoma Agencies.."

* * *

Tsukki left the locker room after Hinata's call. 

He fiddled with his uniform's sleeves, fixing them as he went to the kitchen once more. 

"Ah. Tsukishima!" The head waitress called, "Break's over?" 

Kei nodded wordlessly. 

"Good, now go take orders." The brunette said with a smile. Again, Tsukki just nodded. 

_I wanna go home already.._

Tsukki plastered a tight smile on his face as he approached one table that had new customers in it. He had never seen the two before. 

"Hello! I'm Tsukishima, I'll be your waiter for the night. Have you decided on what you'll order?" Tsukki faked his enthusiasm as he glanced at the males seated. One had silver hair and warm brown eyes while the other-

_What the hell. He's cute._

The other male sitting across the silver-haired was absolutely, breathtakingly cute, with his green hair (was that natural?), olive-grayish eyes, cute button nose, full lips, and the attractive splash of freckles on his cheeks. 

_Adorable._

What surprised Tsukki was that the cute stranger was looking up at him too and was seemingly (hopefully) studying him too. 

Tsukki ignored the knowing smile from the silver-haired male. 

"I.. Uh.. Have you two decided on what you'll-" A ring of a phone cut him off. 

"Daichi? Huh? Oh, I can go. No no. I _will_ go. Yes. Right now. It's fine. Tadashi will be fine." The male exchanged a look with the spooked, cute one. 

"S-Sugawara-san?" _Oh hell, even his voice is cute, is this Hinata all over again?_

Tsukki stole a glance at the green-haired beauty. _No, there's something different about him. Probably because he's not a dumbass._

The silver-haired stood up, a smile on his face that was bordering between sheepish and impish, "Tadashi, I have to go, Kageyama needs assistance." 

"Kageyama..? I'll go with you-" 

"Nope, go eat dinner here. _Enjoy every last bit of the...food._ " the male Tsukki assumed was named Sugawara turned to him, "Excuse me, I have an emergency, but please serve Tadashi well." 

Tsukki gave him a tight smile, because first of all, he didn't _need_ to tell Kei that because that was his job. Second, he battled his mind as he rejected the double meaning of the man's words. 

"Of course." 

"See you _tomorrow_ , Tadashi." The man tapped the other's shoulder before setting off to the exit. 

"So.." 

"Ah! I.. Uh.. This one.. Please..?" Those olive-grayish eyes looked up at Tsukki, and normally, he'd just nod stiffly and walk away. 

The male's cuteness wasn't _normal_ though, it reminded Tsukki of his brother's undeniable allure and charm, but at the same time, there was _something different._

"Coming right up, _Tadashi._ " 

Kei turned around, and when he was sure the green-haired angel wouldn't see his face anymore, he let out the genuine lopsided smile he was holding back caused by the sight of Tadashi blushing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I'm posting mini teasers on my [ twitter](https://twitter.com/fujoshismochi), feel free to approach me too~
> 
> Kazuu.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay ppl, before you read, the tag Graphic Depiction of Violence apply to this chap. Be warned.
> 
> AGAIN, blood and violence in this chap. 
> 
> Also, read the notes at the end of this chapter, okay?
> 
> Enjoy!

Kenma could hear moaning from the room where Kuroo was. 

As he walked closer and closer to the room's door, the moans got louder. 

Kenma's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He quickened his pace and slammed the door open. The moans didn't stop. 

Kuroo lazily glanced at him, his lips quirking in amusement and then he continued prodding his fingers inside the person he had under him. 

Kenma's nose scrunched at the squelching wet sound that came from each move of Kuroo's fingers.

"Please…" A voice called out, the words were garbled. 

"Shut up." Kuroo snapped. 

Kenma couldn't take it anymore, "What are you doing?" 

"What do you think?" 

"Don't answer my questions with questions, Kuroo." Kenma's eyes narrowed at his best friend who gave him his signature smirk. 

"Guess what I'm doing." 

Kenma crossed his arms across his chest, a sign that he wanted answers immediately, something Kuroo knew, and so with a sigh, he pulled his dripping fingers from inside the man's body. The man moaned in pain. 

"Oikawa shot this guy." Kuroo motioned to the guy slumped and tied to a wooden chair, his toes missing and his thighs bloody. It was the man Nekomata-sensei, Fukunaga and Tora brought with them two days ago, the one that caused trouble in Ukai's restaurant. 

"He also cut off his toes and plucked away his teeth because the bastard had the gall to glare at Oika." Kuroo took a piece of cloth and wiped off the blood from his fingers, "He shot his thigh and I was prodding around because why the hell not? It must hurt like fuck for him." 

Kenma took off his black hoodie, leaving his plain black shirt on along with his gray sweatpants that could be easily rid of when it gets blood on it. He looked closely at the man who had blood, sweat and tear stains on his face and all over his body, Kuroo left him on his boxers so the little holes Oikawa probably made on the man's arms were visible.

"Oikawa's really scary when it comes to torturing people." Kenma muttered, walking towards the little drawer on the corner of the undecorated room meant to welcome their _guests_ _warmly_. 

Kuroo hummed in agreement as Kenma took his black gloves from the drawer and pulled them over his hands. He didn't like it when his hands were bloody. 

"Of course he is, the man's still a doctor, despite his attitude. He'll pick at someone where it will hurt but won't kill them." Kuroo grabbed a little knife, it's blade glistening, while Kenma had the bloody pliers that Oikawa used on the man's teeth with him. "He's got skills to save lives in the Syndicate, that's why Ushi wanted him to join the Eagles." 

The two cats' gazes landed on the man who stared at them in horror, his worn out and bloody body tensing up as he shook his head, tears falling from his face. 

"I wanna try something." Kenma muttered, Kuroo nodded, "Go ahead, kitty cat." 

Kenma crouched down near the man's tied hands, rendering the man unable to see what Kenma was planning, Kuroo watched in amusement as Kenma grabbed the man's right hand. 

"Stop struggling or I'll cut your gums all over." A dark tone took over Kenma's voice that made the man freeze in submission. 

Kuroo smirked at the sight, _Hah. Despite me being Nekoma's head, Kenma is still the true-born Syndicate member._

Kenma grew up in the Syndicate and was groomed to be the next head of Nekoma, and as a faction that specializes in manipulating and controlling people behind the scenes, of course the members need to know ways on how to make people do what they want, either trough blackmail or torture. 

_Torture is much more fun though._ Kuroo chuckled as a scream escaped their guest. Poor guy, the man just had his nail plucked off. 

"That was only your pinky's nail.. I still have nine more to take. Why are you screaming so loud already?" Muttered Kenma. 

Kuroo's lips quirked into a smile, _this will be so much fun._

-

Kuroo was preparing fuel for his last torture act for the man seated in the room. Kenma just finished plucking the guy's nails away, but of course, the man was a little slow in the head and didn't listen to Kenma's warning about squirming too much. 

The guy had blood flowing out of his lips after having a large knife shoved in his mouth after squirming and shouting when Kenma was busy with his work with the man's hands. 

Now that Kenma had his fill on the fun, he probably won't enter the room they were in any time sooner. Kenma was like that, he only indulged on his dark, sadistic side once in a while. 

"Hey, Kuroo." Tetsurou hummed questioningly, his focus on preparing his tools for the last show of his _warm_ welcome (and goodbye) to their wonderful guest. 

"I met Hinata Shouyou." Kuroo stilled. 

Kuroo's cat-like eyes widened as he whipped his head towards Kenma's direction. The faux blond was removing his gloves after disposing of the pliers, Kuroo's stupefied gaze met Kenma's calculating ones. 

"You-" 

"I gave him a job offer." 

Kuroo's jaw slacked. He dropped the canister of fuel with a _clang_ and earned an amused raised brow from Kenma. 

"Is that- Holy shit, you won't lie about this." Kuroo's lips spread into a grin as he crouched down and grabbed the canister from the floor. 

"Hinata has a job though?" Kuroo couldn't keep the excitement off his voice, how could he? There was a possibility that _Hinata Shouyou, innocent-face and bright-eyes himself_ could work for Nekoma. 

"Oh wait," Kuroo turned to his best friend, "Don't tell me you offered him a huge amount of money and he accepted? Not that I blame him for taking advantage of the huge pay," Kuroo opened the fuel's cap and dumped the contents on the man's seated and bound figure (the man screamed once more, but Kuroo had more pressing matters to address). 

"I expected him to refuse a job like this, but I guess he is the-" Kuroo's rambling was interrupted by Kenma's sharp voice. 

"I didn't tell him about the Syndicate, nor did I tell him about anything illegal that we do. I never offered him a huge pay either," Kuroo accidentally let go of the fuel's canister and it fell against the man's head with a _thud_. 

"What?!" 

Kenma shrugged, "Didn't Bokuto ask the Heads not to get Hinata involved with any illegal activities of the Syndicate?" 

Kuroo took a few moments before he could answer, "But.. I thought we could use Hinata's charm here in Nekoma, don't you think so too?" Kuroo took another canister from the stock of it in the corner of the room, "Besides, Inarizaki might try to recruit him too, they are conmen after all, they also need his charm. Ushijima seemed too fixated on him, he'll probably try his best to keep Hinata in Shiratorizawa just to assure himself that Chibi-chan will be safe." 

The way Hinata had the attention of all the Syndicate's head and still had _no idea_ about it boggled Kuroo. He didn't know if he should pity the kid. 

"I don't like him involved in our line of work either." Kenma said as he walked towards the door, opening it and motioning for an underling outside to take the small wooden drawer out of the room, they wouldn't like it burned down along with the man inside now would they? 

"But you offered him a job." 

"As a delivery boy," Kenma stopped his words when a member came in, gave them a quick bow, took the small drawer out with him, and darted out of the room. "I figured everyone else would like to form-" Kenma glanced at Kuroo, "A _friendship_ with Hinata Shouyou." 

Kuroo knew exactly why Kenma had to pause with his words. The Heads were known for their ruthlessness, no matter how kind they were to their own faction, or how respectful they were to the others, the Heads led the Syndicate, and they needed to rule with an iron fist to keep order in their city. 

It was exactly why Kuroo stepped in as a Nekoma Head, despite the fact that he was only a street kid that was blessed with overwhelming physical abilities and wit. 

The Heads were ruthless, but now they wanted to form _non-violent bonds_ with Hinata Shouyou. 

Kuroo's Cheshire cat smile slowly bloomed on his face as he looked at his best friend who looked back at him with a small smile, "What a smart kitty. Yes, we do need a way on how everyone could spend time with Chibi-chan," Kuroo took another canister of fuel and dumped the contents on the man who was letting out little sobs (Kuroo was sure the man was listening to their conversation but he didn't worry much, he'd be dead in less than an hour anyway). "Because if the incident of Bokuto spending time with Hinata, or whoever other faction continues, without giving the other faction their own chance to be with carrot-top, I fear that one of us might snap, become too possessive of Hinata and keep him for themselves. "

Kenma hummed, "Hinata might unknowingly start a war within the Syndicate and tear it apart." 

"It sounds drastic, Ken, but.. Now that you met him.." Kuroo smirked at his shorter friend, "You won't sit still and let the others keep Hinata to themselves, no?" 

There were a few moments of stillness from Kenma who only met his gaze head on, until a chilling smile spread on his face, "You're right again, Tetsu." 

* * *

Kuroo now stood outside of the _concrete room_ , as they call it in Nekoma. 

Why concrete room? 

Because it's all concrete, from the floor, to the walls and ceiling. It's where they send off guests with their _hottest_ goodbye. Nothing in the room could burn except the person inside and the chair where they were tied on. 

Screams of agony were music to Kuroo's ears as he stood outside with Shibayama beside him. He was savouring the screams when he saw Yaku walking towards them. Shibayama bowed respectfully to the third-in-command of Nekoma. 

Kuroo raised a brow, "Yaku? What's new?" 

"Lev's got a little setback, we need the Crows and the Knights' help." Yaku ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. Poor guy, stuck with babysitting Lev and posing as his personal guard. 

"Of course, come with me and let's tell Kenma in a bit, let me savour this symphony of screams for a bit." Kuroo motioned to the closed door slightly muffling the man's screams. 

Yaku crossed his arms across his chest, "It's not a symphony of screams, there's only one person screaming." 

"I used the word because it sounded beautiful, Yaku." Kuroo retorted, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. 

"What a simpleton." The Cat Head heard the shorter man muttering, Shibayama took a few steps away from both of them. 

"Huh?! Did you just call me simpleton?!" 

"You are though. See? Such outburst for just a little comment." Yaku chuckled mockingly, "That's why Kenma refuses a relationship with you." 

"Kenma wants an _open_ relationship! It's _still a relationship_! Besides," Kuroo smirked at Yaku, "Alisa refused a date with you, no? She likes you with her precious little brother." 

"Shut up! Alisa didn't reject me!" A blush formed on the shorter's cheeks, a telltale sign that he was lying. 

"Whatever." Kuroo turned to their underling who watched them with amusement dancing in his eyes, "I trust you to take care of the bastard inside?" 

"Of course, Sir." Shibayama gave them an assuring smile, "Leave it to me." 

A chuckle came out from Yaku, "What a great kouhai! So unlike Lev." 

Shibayama grinned, "Lev's gonna cry if he heard you say that, Yaku-san." 

Yaku's lip twitched in amusement, probably conjuring up an image of a whining and crying Lev, "You're absolutely right." 

The two began to walk to Kuroo's office, where Kenma was probably draped in his huge couch while playing the game he just bought. Yaku and Kuroo engaged in a business talk on the way, discussing the pain in their asses that were giving them trouble. 

"Yeah.. They're spouting out bullshit about the Syndicate, and you know there are small groups that rebel against us," Yaku let out a weary sigh, "It'll be trouble if those pests side with the small groups. Money fuels those groups, if they find some source of good money, they'll gain more members and that means more trouble for us." 

"We're at least a little lucky that we have Nohebi in our side now," Kuroo opened the door gently, so as to not startle Kenma, his face scrunching up at the mention of the Snakes. "Stop making that face, Kuroo, Daishou's an ally now." Yaku scolded. 

Kuroo clicked his tongue, "I don't fully trust him, Yaku. He's a cunning bastard that would betray anyone." 

"He knows the repercussions of betraying and defecting from the Syndicate, besides, the Snakes live a much easier life since he pledged loyalty, despite his personality, he's a good leader to his group, he wouldn't sacrifice his members' lives." Yaku shrugged off his suit, leaving him in his white dress shirt, "And he's been meaning to ask his girlfriend for marriage, he wouldn't risk messing up now." 

Kuroo only hummed, he never liked Daishou, ever since he was still a fifteen year old kid who lived off the streets. They just don't do well with each other. 

Kuroo threw a glance at Kenma, who looked like he just got out of shower. The faux blond was playing with his PSP as usual and laid down on the couch. Kuroo looked over the new stacks of documents on his desk with a grimace, sometimes he hated being the Nekoma Head. 

"Kenma, don't put that device too close to your face, you'll ruin your eyes." Yaku's voice held worry in it, like a worried parent to their child. Kenma sat up from his position and cracked a small smile, setting aside his PSP. 

"Yaku-san, you're not with Lev?" Kenma's voice was soft, as usual. The mention of the tall silver-haired cat made Yaku sigh loudly. 

"If I spend every waking moment with him, I'll lose a year of my life daily." The third-in-command plopped down beside the faux blond, "Besides, Lev's out with Alisa." 

Kuroo walked to his table, his chair gliding smoothly against the tiled floor of his office, setting his elbow against the wooden desk and leaning his face against his palm as he settled on his cushioned chair, he motioned for Yaku to speak up. 

Yaku straightened on the couch, his demeanour becoming less like a long-time friend and more like a member of his faction. Despite the fact that Yaku came from a respectable family that was associated with the Syndicate from the start, Kuroo and Morisuke joined Nekoma at the same time, and now that Kuroo was the Head, Yaku knew when to stop their playful banter and switch back to being formal and curt. 

"There are a few councilmen opposed to Lev's propaganda. I've done a little digging up and it turns out that they have ties to the rebel groups." Yaku's face was marred by a grimace, "If they win over the whole council--something that is unlikely but not entirely impossible-- it'll be difficult for us to move, especially Fukurodani's trade and Johzenji's casinos and little businesses." 

Kuroo groaned under his breath while Kenma's inquisitive gaze sharpened, indicating that the gears inside the male's brain were turning and doing their work. 

"Let me take care of it, give me until tomorrow." Kenma told them, resolve clear in his eyes, "Do you trust me?" 

"Undoubtedly." Tetsurou answered without missing a beat, "I'll leave you to it then. Now, let's continue our talk earlier." 

Yaku finally relaxed on the couch, his body leaning over the little pillows Kuroo had while Kenma raised a brow. 

"About Hinata Shouyou." Kuroo spoke slowly, Yaku perked up a bit at that. 

"Wait, Taketora wasn't lying when he said that a little kid caught your fancy?" Yaku had a disbelieving expression. 

Kuroo's chuckle was heard, "Tora needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut, but yeah," the dark-haired Head met Yaku's questioning gaze evenly, "We're all interested in Hinata Shouyou." 

"We?" 

"All the Heads." 

Yaku's jaw slacked, " _All?_ Even Oikawa, Ushijima and Kita?" 

A laugh escaped Kuroo, whilst Kenma kept his silence, amusement visible in his golden eyes, "Yes. Oikawa even asked Iwaizumi if they could kidnap Hinata, also Yaku, don't let the Chibi-chan hear you call him 'kid', his eyes flared up when Oikawa asked if he was sixteen." 

"I'm assuming he's short and loud and like Tora." The third-in-command's eyebrow furrowed, "Why would you all be interested with him though? Don't tell me you like people like Tora and Tanaka from Karasuno?" 

"No! You just haven't seen him yet! His smiles are made of sunshine, his eyes hold the morning sun, and he exudes pure innocence!" exclaimed Kuroo. Yaku turned to Kenma beside him, "Are you taking his crap seriously?" 

"I met Shouyou." Kenma had a genuine smile on his face, "What Kuroo said was correct." 

"Even you Kenma?" Yaku asked in disbelief. "I gotta meet this person." 

"You're in luck, Kenma offered him a job." Kuroo butted in, "Also Kenma, I didn't get to ask earlier, what happened to Hinata's job at Ukai's? Did he quit?" 

Kenma shook his head, "No, Ukai's going for a month-long vacation. He'll probably visit his grandfather." 

The Nekoma's Head's eyes widened a little, "That's great. Ukai-san deserves to see his great-granddaughter, I heard she's a sweet little girl. Nekomata-sensei's probably stay where Ukai-san is for a bit too, they've got this weird friendship-rivalry between them after all." 

"What job will you give him? I'm assuming you didn't tell this Hinata about the Syndicate?" Asked Yaku. 

"No, I didn't tell him anything about the factions. I'll ask him to deliver documents and other stuff for us to the other factions, since all of the Heads are ready to kill just to get to know him better." Kenma explained, "He'll spend more time here though." 

"You're quite hooked on him too, huh Kenma?" A teasing smirk was on Kuroo's face that Kenma chose to ignore, "He's.. Interesting.." 

"When do you think he'll drop by?" Yaku was looking up at the ceiling as he asked, his body slumped over the couch. 

"Probably tomorrow.." 

"I'll tell Lev to visit tomorrow then."

* * *

Hinata watched his brother eat the onigiris he made for dinner. 

It wasn't like it was the first time that Hinata made those onigiris (that he was told were delicious), it was just that Tsukki was eating dinner with a _smile_ playing on his lips. 

"Did something happen at work?" Hinata asked with a head tilt. 

Tsukki stilled for a moment, before shaking his head, "Just the usual, nothing much." 

Now, Hinata wasn't an idiot, he knew Tsukki was lying, but he respected his privacy so he didn't pry for answers; he was sure that Tsukki would tell him when he was ready. 

"Alright then..Someone offered me a job today!" Exclaimed Hinata as he pulled from his pocket the business card Kenma gave him, "Here, look!" 

Tsukki took the card from him and inspected it, "Nekoma Agencies.. I've heard of this, it's a really good place, they take care of government-related stuff. I heard that they work closely with Councilman Haiba." Tsukki gave Hinata back the card. 

"Who?" 

"Haiba Lev. His sister's a model, I only know because there's a huge billboard of her in the city centre. Haiba Lev is a new politician, but he's got good things planned, people say he's really nice too." Tsukki explained before taking a bite of onigiri. The carrot-top's mouth formed an 'o'. 

"Woah! This is a big shot place then?" Shouyou practically had stars in his eyes in amazement. 

Kei nodded, "I guess, makes me wonder why they want to hire you." Tsukki's eyes narrowed, "Who offered you a job by the way?" 

Hinata took a sip of his water before answering, "Kozume Kenma! I met him on the bus!" 

"And that's not shady, at all." Tsukki's eyes rolled with his sarcastic remark making Hinata huff and cross his arms across his chest. 

"It's not shady!" Hinata squeaked, earning a raise of a brow from Tsukki. _Well, yeah, it kinda is.._ Hinata thought. 

"What's the job anyway?" Tsukki asked, making a pink tinge appear on Hinata's cheeks, "I don't know.. He didn't tell." 

Kei snorted a laugh at that. 

"What if it's a prank?" Tsukki pursed his lips, Hinata huffed once more, not meeting Tsukki's gaze as he searched for his words. 

His brother's words made sense, like it always did. "Well, I won't know until I try.. And you said it yourself! Nekoma's a good place, I don't think they'll be involved in anything illegal!" 

Tsukishima sighed, setting down his onigiri as his face turned serious, "Just stay safe, okay?" 

Hinata gave him a grin, the one that lit up his hair as bright as his hair. The one that could shoot Cupid's arrow straight through someone's heart and make them head over heels for Hinata. 

Tsukki stared at Hinata, as if making sure that his brother was real and safe with him. Hinata knew Kei truly cared for him. 

It's just that Tsukki didn't know back then that several dangerous people had already fallen for his kind-of oblivious brother and were all doing _everything_ legal that they could do to be closer to the carrot-top

* * *

Hinata looked at the meticulous work that the man was doing to fix his precious bike. 

Shouyou decided to have his bike fixed before setting off for Nekoma that day, and because he didn't know the city well yet, he ended up asking in a motorcycle shop and asking its owner where he could get his bike fixed.

And it seemed like the snake-looking owner took pity on him, since he offered to do the fixing himself (paid, of course). 

"Here's your little troublemaker." The man who introduced himself as Suguru presented a little tack that formed a little hole in his tire. Hinata eyed it with a grimace, the little thing caused him headaches. 

"It looks like your bike is still new, so I won't replace the wheel and just patch it up, nice and easy." Suguru told him, Hinata sighed in appreciation. 

"Thank you so much, Suguru-san." 

"No problem, Tangerine." Hinata squawked at the silly nickname, earning a mischief-filled smile from the man. 

Suguru soon focused on fixing his wheel, keeping his gaze on it as he heated up the rubber into the right temperature, "What do you do, Carrot-head?" 

"My name's Hinata Shouyou!" Hinata huffed, his cheeks puffing up, "And I'm a delivery boy for a little restaurant." 

Suguru hummed, his fingers skillfully mending the rubber and patching the hole, "Figured. You seem like the type that can brighten someone's day just by bringing their fresh and hot food to them." 

Hinata cracked a smile, "I'm mostly late though, I'm still not used to the streets." 

"No one's new ever get used to the confusing ways of the city so easily." Suguru spoke as if he felt Hinata's pain before, a smile spreading on his face as he finished patching the hole. 

"There! Now we just need for it to cool and I can get your bike all fixed and ready." The man carefully placed the rubber somewhere it would be cooled off easily, "Now come Tangerine, have a drink with me." 

"You look like a minor, so no beer for you, I'll give you orange juice." Suguru said with a snicker. 

"I'm not a kid, I'm twenty-one!" whined Hinata, "And why would you drink so early anyway?" 

Shouyou stepped inside the quaint store, marveling at the unique parts and tools displayed and hung neatly. He also caught a glimpse of a framed photo of Suguru with a beautiful woman. _Must be his special someone.._ Thought Hinata. 

Suguru opened his mini fridge and took out a beer and a carton of orange juice, setting the juice in a glass and giving it to Hinata. 

"Do you usually give your customers drinks like this?" Laughed Hinata as he gratefully took the juice, smiling at the way it tickled his taste buds with its sweet and sour taste and quenched his thirst. Suguru let out a short laugh. 

"You're my first customer of the day, and the first normal one after quite a while." 

Shouyou's head tilted a bit, "Normal? Are your customers weird?" 

Suguru's lips quirked up, "You could say that. They also usually visit at later hours." 

"Huh.. City people are kind of weird." Hinata muttered as he looked at his glass. 

Suguru let out a hearty laugh, "You could say that again." 

-

"Bye Suguru-san! I'll visit sometimes!" Hinata waved his goodbye to the male who gave him a small wave back. 

"See you around, Tangerine." 

_He's really nice.. I think I just made a friend._

Hinata grinned as he boarded his newly fixed bike, his wheels easily gliding against the ground. 

_Now, off to Nekoma.._

* * *

_Maybe_ Hinata got lost a bit while trying to maneuver around the bustling streets of the city. _Maybe_ he thought of giving up while he was consumed with confusion. 

But after an hour and a half of struggling, he finally found the place. He really ought to buy a much more modern phone with a digital map in it. 

The grand building didn't have any fancy, glowing signs that boldly presented the name _Nekoma Agencies_. It was something Hinata never really expected. 

It looked grand, with an off-white exterior and with people moving past each other as they entered and exited the building. 

Hinata gulped, suddenly feeling underdressed. He probably should've worn something formal instead of wearing his normal work clothes--which consisted of a shirt and hoodie paired with pants, a very _very_ plain comparison to the pristine suits and dress shirts those people had. 

_Kenma was wearing a hoodie though? Ah! Hinata you idiot, that was his casual clothes! It didn't mean he wore it to work!_

Hinata tensed, backing up a little while still staring at the tall building, completely intimated. 

"I should just go back some other tim--" Hinata's words were cut off as his back met resistance, _did I hit a wall? No. There's no wall here._

"Are you okay? Sorry for bumping into you." A kind voice came from behind Hinata. Making him jump a bit, dragging his bike with him. 

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata turned to look at someone wearing a black suit, and only a little bit taller than him. 

"Yaku-san! Don't leave me behind, you're supposed to be acting as my bodyguard!" A playful voice called out, making the man Hinata bumped into click his tongue in annoyance. 

"Shut up Lev." 

_Lev? Sounds familiar.._

A tall, like _really tall_ male walked to where Hinata and the other male were with a hop in his step, which looked quite weird considering that he was wearing a silver suit that complimented his slicked-back silver hair, a bright smile on his face. 

What startled Hinata though, was the stranger's bright green eyes that swept over the whole place, as if gauging for any movement. 

_A lion and its prey._ Was the thought that entered Shouyou's mind as he met the taller one's gaze, his eyes wide in surprise. 

"Oh? What do we have here?" The male's cheery voice- Hinata assumed the man's name was Lev-echoed as he looked over Shouyou, curiosity clear on his face. 

"This kid seemed lost, so I was thinking that I could help him, Lev." The man in front of Hinata explained, before moving his gaze to Hinata, who was still tense at all that was happening. 

_They're dangerous._ His gut warned Hinata, despite the kind voice the first stranger used and the teasing voice of the taller one. 

"So, hey kid, are you lost? Do you need help?" The shorter male's voice was soft, soothing even, but Hinata couldn't shake off his panicked expression. 

_Run. Run. Run._ Hinata's mind whispered to him, so without even saying a word, Hinata tried to scramble and take his bike with him and run away. 

But before he could even do it, a voice called him out, "Shouyou?" 

Shouyou stilled. 

Slowly glancing behind him, his frantic eyes met Kenma's golden. 

"Kenma? Wait- did you just say Shouyou?" The male Hinata bumped into turned to him in surprise and realization. 

"Kenma.." Hinata breathed out, the faux blond looked _so different_ from he last saw him. 

He donned a fashionable red suit that perfectly complemented his frame, his shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail. 

Hinata's eyes widened even more as he saw another someone that was familiar to him. 

"Chibi-chan?" A deep voice called out with shock lacing its tone. 

_Is this really Nekoma..? Why.. Is there something off?_

Hinata thought with a grimace, now that he had seen Kenma, he couldn't just run and hide. 

"Hinata Shouyou?" The tall black-haired donning a black dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows called, it was one of the men who approached him before, the one with Bokuto. 

_So that means they're all good people since the black-haired guy's friends with Bokuto-san.. Kenma didn't seem dangerous either.. But why do these two seem so… Off..?_

"H-hi.." Hinata squeaked as Kenma and the tall black-haired guy walked closer to him and the other two. Kenma's brows were scrunched together as he stepped closer to Shouyou and his bike. 

"Are you okay?" Kenma's gaze swept over Hinata, making him flush in embarrassment, he looked _so underdressed_ compared to Kenma's glamorous look. "I'm sorry, I should've given you a proper contact number for you to call," Kenma apologized. 

Hinata shook his head, his body still on alert, "It's fine, Kenma..-san." Hinata mentally smacked himself for forgetting to be polite, Hinata swore he saw Kenma's eye twitch a bit. 

"Come now, Kenma offered you a job, didn't he?" The velvety smooth voice of the black-haired man called to them, "I heard you're friends with Bokuto?" 

Hinata couldn't help his lips curling into a smile at the mention of the salt-and-pepper haired male's name, "Yes! Bokuto-san's been so nice! Akaashi-san too, they usually call me in the evening to catch up." Hinata beamed, remembering the fun talks he had with the two. 

"Oh?" 

* * *

Kuroo was flabbergasted. 

He didn't know Bokuto and Akaashi had Hinata's number. 

Well, it was true that they already collected Hinata's number the first evening they met but.. 

_It's different if Hinata gives it himself!_ Kuroo whined mentally. 

Tetsurou needed to talk to the Owls. 

He led his members and the little carrot-top inside the building, occasionally glancing at Hinata who only looked at ease with Kenma. 

_Well, we crowded him that night.. And it seems like he got intimidated by Yaku and Lev._

Nekomata-sensei mentioned that Ukai said that his delivery boy got a sense of what the bastard was doing the moment he and the girl entered the place. Hinata Shouyou had sharp senses. 

And unfortunately, Yaku usually gave off a dangerous vibe, he had to, he was posing as a guard after all. Lev might be all smiles and teasing but his bright green eyes were eerie, especially for someone like Hinata with astounding observation skills who could easily distinguish Lev's fake smile. 

_I need to make him warm up to us if we want to get closer to him._

Kuroo threw a glance at Hinata who was answering Kenma's questions with a soft voice, obviously distancing himself from the curious Yaku and Lev. 

_Hinata doesn't seem as bright as before.._

Kuroo needed to think of something, before the sun-child decided that they were not the kind of people he should be around with (which was _true_ but still). 

Then an idea popped in Kuroo's mind. 

Flashes of Hinata's information went through his mind, a Cheshire cat smile forming on his face. 

_I'm freaking brilliant._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii. I'm so sorry for a sucky chapter, I am really bummed out because halfway through this chapter, my Google docs malfunctioned I think and I lost about 3k words of the chap, and when I checked over my other drafts, my 12k word update for my other fic, Kenma's (Re)Quest turned into 3k words only, and I spent days typing for it *cue ugly crying*
> 
> This fic will be updated weekly from now on, and not the usual three-four days interval, I got a shit ton of work piled up on my desk rn.
> 
> Feel free to talk to me on [ twt!](https://twitter.com/fujoshismochi) Though I apologize for my awkwardness in advance, I ain't good with socialising.
> 
> Annnnd stay safe, see you soon!
> 
> Kazuu.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here is the next chapter! There's a question/poll in the end note, please read~
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> This chapter has been beta-read by BrownieQueen, kudos to her!

Kuroo gulped, his palms felt clammy and icky even though the room temperature seemed to drop. 

Kenma's seated beside him, calmly assessing the situation like he always did, with Yaku on his right and next to Yaku was Lev, who only smirked as he looked on. 

Hinata's aura changed; everyone in the room definitely noticed, even Taketora and Fukunaga, who only watched their table from afar. 

_ What had happened to the sweet, sweet boy we all fell in love with? What the hell?  _ Kuroo thought with a grimace as Hinata's gaze sharpened, his eyes carefully assessing the Cats' faces. Kuroo was reminded of Kenma, with the way Yaku tensed beside him, the Cat Head knew his third-in-command saw Kenma in Hinata too. 

_ Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.  _ Kuroo mused as a lopsided grin bloomed on his face,  _ So fitted for us Cats..  _

Everyone stilled as Hinata moved his hand, placing it on the table slowly, his lips curled into a triumphant smile, his shoulders rose, as if bracing himself, his smile turned into a grin, Kuroo and Yaku's breath hitched. 

_ Please.. Please not that..  _

Kenma's lips twitched into a small smile as Hinata proclaimed loudly, "UNO!" 

Hinata took his palm away from the table and revealed the UNO card, a Blue Number Six. Damn it, now he only had one card to put down and Kuroo would bet half his riches that it was a Color Change card.

Now, he had six cards on his hands, with only a Blue Reverse card as a power-up, he didn't know what Yaku's cards were, but he sure hoped there was at least a +2 card with him. 

He and Yaku shared a panicked look, they cannot lose, they  _ absolutely  _ cannot lose, not if they still want to work normally in the Syndicate. Yaku sighed, they couldn't show each other their cards because Kenma was watching them closely, and Kenma was really quite terrifying when mad.

Lev laughed triumphantly, the tall bastard already ran out of cards, how the hell was he able to outsmart them all? Damn it. 

Yaku sighed, and Kuroo desperately hoped that it would be a good card but.. 

A Blue Number 8.

_ Goddammit.  _

Kuroo looked at his cards with pain in his eyes, contemplating on what he'd put down (not like it'll make any difference since Hinata had a Colour Change card). He thought back to the cards already on the table, the +4 cards in one set was four in total, and if he could remember correctly, there were only three +4 cards thrown out, meaning, one of them still had a +4 card, or it was somewhere on the spare cards. 

Kuroo threw a sideway glance at Kenma beside him and tensed as their eyes met. The faux blond gave him a slight smirk, not big and noticeable enough for Hinata to see, but enough for Kuroo to catch. Kenma gently tilted his hand, as if knowing that Kuroo was contemplating on fishing for the +4 card, the shorter male showed his remaining two cards, one was a Green Number Three, and the other.. 

_ Ah, fuck.  _

Kenma had the last +4 card. Kuroo was sure that luck hated him. 

_ Wait..  _ Kuroo's eyes widened, a grin forming on his lips as he put down a Blue Number Six card,  _ now, Hinata won't win because Kenma doesn't have anything to put down but the +4 card.  _

Kuroo leaned back on his seat with a smirk, it was now Kenma's turn. 

The Cat Head watched as his best friend for  _ eight years  _ draw a card from the spares and didn't put any card down, despite having a  _ +4 card,  _ just so Hinata could win. 

Kuroo had never felt betrayal hit so hard before. 

The black-haired male glared at his best friend, who only gave him a shrug. It was now Hinata's turn again, and Kuroo was right when he predicted that Hinata had a Color Change card. 

"I'm done!" Hinata laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides with just how wide his smile was. Kuroo mellowed a bit, a part of himself found it acceptable to lose if it meant seeing Hinata laughing like that. 

_ Ugh, now I just have to beat Kenma and Yaku.. Why did I think of this again?  _

Kuroo remembered the guarded look on Hinata's face around Yaku and Lev, the way the carrot-top avoided the half-Russian and his third-in-command and stuck only beside Kenma. Tetsurou knew they couldn't have that continuing if Hinata were to work there. 

* * *

_ "Hey Kenma.." Kuroo called out when Hinata was out of earshot and seated quite uncomfortably on the cushioned seat of Kuroo's large office, away from Yaku and Lev who stole glances at him (which weren't helping at all since Hinata felt uneasy with the two already).  _

_ "Hinata doesn't like them." Kenma muttered as he took some contract for Hinata's hiring he prepared the night before, it was only for formality, they'd still hire Hinata even if he demanded to get a brand new sports car in exchange of him working in Nekoma (not like Hinata would ever request that). Kenma continued his words as his eyes scanned the contract, "We need to do something about that. He needs to be comfortable here."  _

_ "I have an idea." Kuroo said, Kenma's gaze flitted to him, raising his brow in a questioning way.  _

_ Kuroo weighed his options out before they even entered the building.  _

_ The first thing that came to his mind was volleyball, since Hinata and his brother used to play in high school. Kuroo, and sometimes Kenma used to play with Daichi, Sugawara and the other crows before, when they weren't Heads yet and their elders were in charge, but the makeshift volleyball court was on Karasuno's place. Kuroo, Kenma, Yaku and Lev could drive to the Crows and play but..  _

I'm not sharing our time with Karasuno, they'll have their own chance soon, besides, we all can't leave Nekoma, Kai's out too. 

_ So the volleyball option wasn't applicable anymore.  _

_ Kuroo thought of arcades, but Bokuto and Akaashi already went to the arcades with Hinata, doing it again would be unoriginal.  _

_ Video games? Sure, but Yaku doesn't like games, he won't enjoy it with Hinata, and they wouldn't get closer and comfortable.  _

_ Then the UNO cards came to Kuroo's mind. It was perfect, fun and easy to play, Kenma and Hinata wouldn't get bored.  _

_ Kuroo told Kenma of his plan, the faux blond agreed and called for Tora and Fukunaga. They first took care of Hinata's employment (The Cats took delight in the way Hinata's eyes almost bulged at the pay).  _

_ "B-but.. This is twice the amount of the usual pay for delivery boys!" Hinata spoke up, flustered, "And why do you need delivery boys anyway?"  _

_ Kenma calmly answered, "You'll be delivering very important documents to our business partners."  _

That was a half-lie, he will be delivering documents, but not important ones. 

_ "We need you- I'm assuming you'll use your bike?" Kenma asked, Hinata nodded with a blush on his cheeks, "You're inconspicuous, everyone would think you'll just be delivering newspapers, so you won't get in trouble."  _

_ "Besides," Kuroo spoke up, a Cheshire cat smile on his face, "You already met our business partners."  _

_ "I did?"  _

_ "Yeah, the men with me back in McDonald's, and yes, Bokuto's included." Kuroo explained. Hinata's eyes lit up at the mention of Bokuto.  _ What the hell did those Owls do that Hinata's so taken with them? Damn Owls. 

_ "Bokuto-san? Really? Oh.. Well I Guess he did say he owns a trading company.." Hinata muttered, mulling over their words.  _

_ "We pay that much because we trust that you won't lose, steal, or mess up those documents, right?" Kenma asked, his expression serious.  _

_ Hinata nodded, "Of course! But.. I only need a job for a month, since the restaurant I work in only closed for a month.."  _

_ "We'll cross the bridge when we get there." Kenma spoke, pushing the contract closer to Hinata for him to sign.  _

_ Hinata looked over the contract, then his eyes scanned the room, from Kenma and Kuroo who were in front of him to Yaku and Lev watching him from behind, and with a deep breath, he signed the contract.  _

_ "Welcome to Nekoma, Shouyou." Kenma said with a smile, Hinata pulled a small smile to his face in return, "We look forward to working with you.."  _

_ "Great!" Kuroo stood up from his seat, Tora and Fukunaga entered the room with a knock.  _

_ "Kuroo-san, here's the cards you asked for-- Hey! Orange-head!" Tora pointed at Hinata whose eyes lit up in recognition.  _

_ "Mohawk-san and Neko-san from before!" Kuroo snorted a laugh at the nicknames Hinata gave.  _

_ "I'm not Mohawk-san, Orange! My name's Yamamoto Taketora, got that? Tora. Not Mohawk-san." It was like Tora remembered that the higher-ups were in the same room because right after that, the male straightened and bowed politely.  _

_ "Excuse my rudeness! I was just surprised to see Orange-head!" Yaku hummed in dismissal while Lev chuckled, "Tora-san! How polite."  _

_ Tora frowned, "Shut up Lev. I'm still your superior."  _

_ "And yet I'm the one in position, while you're stuck as an errand cat." Lev retorted, and Kuroo sighed as Yamamoto's nose flared.  _

_ "That's because-"  _

_ "Enough."  _

_ Kuroo spoke lowly, but his word was heard by all the people inside his office.  _

_ Fukunaga elbowed his partner on his ribs wordlessly, earning a pained groan from the male as Yaku smacked Lev's arm.  _

_ "Shohei!" Tora groaned, Fukunaga only glanced at him, "Sorry, there was a mosquito."  _

_ "Like hell there was!"  _

_ "You idiot, stop being mean. He is still your superior, he joined before you." Yaku scolded the tall silver-haired male, who only let out a sheepish laugh.  _

_ "But Tora-san's so fun to tease!"  _

_ Fukunaga walked to where Kuroo and Kenma were and handed the box of UNO cards. Hinata looked curiously as Tora and Fukunaga took their places near the door. Hinata then turned to the two, head tilting as he spoke.  _

_ "Yamamoto-san..? Where's the guy that caused trouble in Ukai-san's restaurant?"  _

_ A silence enveloped the room for a moment after hearing Hinata's very innocent tone. Tora met Kuroo's stare and gulped.  _

_ "He's.." Tora trailed off.  _

_ "He won't hurt anyone anymore." Fukunaga spoke, with a smile on his face. "Thank you for trying to stop him. _

_ Hinata brightened a bit,"That's good to hear! I hope he learned his lesson!"  _

I'm sure he did, he's dead. _Kuroo mused._

_ He then presented the UNO cards and initiated a round, Yaku spoke up, "It's boring if we just play, let's raise some stakes."  _

_ Lev chirped, "Whoever loses will do one dare! No matter what the extent."  _

_ "Sure." Kuro smirked, there was no way he'll lose anyway.  _

* * *

How the hell did he lose? 

Kuroo stared at his four cards in horror, Kenma didn't put down the +4 card until Kuroo reversed the flow of the game, the +4 card was inflicted upon him. 

"Kenma, how could you?!" Tetsurou bursted, Kenma only smirked at him. 

Yaku laughed as he placed his last card down, "Thank fucking gods." 

Hinata and Lev laughed with each other. Kuroo was at least glad that Lev and Hinata seemed to get closer as they proclaimed themselves as _UNO Kings_. 

"Hinata! You're so little! So huggable.." Lev laughed as he wrapped his long arms around Hinata's torso, earning a surprised squeak from the carrot-top. 

"I'm not little, you're just really tall!" 

Lev smiled a bit, "Hey, Hina-kun, let's be friends!" The half-Russian said with a sincere voice that made even Yaku freeze a bit, Hinata looked up Lev's eyes, that Kuroo noticed weren't cunning-looking anymore, and blinked for a few moments, as if studying Lev. 

"I've seen you before.. I can't remember where." Hinata murmured as his nose scrunched up cutely, trying to remember. 

"Oh. I'm a councilman, I'm usually shown on TV, maybe there?"

* * *

Hinata tensed, eyes going wide at the nonchalant tone of the tall silver-haired male. 

Tsukki's voice echoed in his mind and flashes of the news showed up in his mind. 

_ Haiba Lev.  _

How could Hinata forget?  _ I'm such an idiot.  _

Hinata squeaked, jumping out of his seat and Lev's grasp, the male pouted. 

"I- Uh- Hi, Sir!" Shouyou was sure his face was almost the same color as his hair now, and to hide it, he bowed a perfect 90°. He was talking to one of the officials of this city, even played UNO with him and declared themselves UNO Kings, and he had _no idea_ about it? 

He heard chuckles from all over the room, okay, maybe he shouldn't have bowed but he panicked! 

"Sir..?" He heard Yaku chuckle then soft hands guided Hinata's body out of his bow, Kenma was looking at him with amusement dancing in his molten gold eyes. 

"You don't need to be so formal, Hinata, that guy's just a big idiot." Yaku spoke. 

Hinata glanced at the two, somehow while playing, the dangerous feel from the two disappeared. The chilling glint in their cat-like eyes were gone, replaced by a bright look as they competed against each other, and slowly, Hinata felt his body relax and his gut stopped screaming at him and telling him to run. 

_ Maybe it's just because Lev's a politician? And that Yaku-san's his bodyguard.. Though Yaku-san's almost the same height as me, and Lev's huge, maybe Yaku-san compensates by being really really scary?  _

Hinata watched as Yaku smacked Lev for teasing him for sucking at UNO. 

_ Maybe that's right.. They seem nice now..  _

Hinata smiled a bit at the silly antics of the two, unaware of the triumphant smile Kenma and Kuroo shared. 

After cleaning up the cards, Hinata spoke, "Kenma? Kuroo-san? Who are the others I'll deliver documents to?"

* * *

Kuroo looked at Hinata who looked up at him expectantly, like a puppy. 

_ How freaking cute…  _

Tetsurou cleared his throat, motioning for Hinata to sit on his couch beside Kenma. 

"You know their faces now, probably, since you already met them, albeit a bit rushed." 

Hinata nodded. 

"Well, there's Bokuto, and his assistant Akaashi, you know his company specialises in trade."  _ And supplying weapons and sometimes drugs but you don't need to know that.  _

"There's Ushijima." Hinata tilted his head im confusion, again, how fucking cute, Kuroo was tempted to take out his phone and snap a picture or two, but he held back, "The one who asked for your name." 

The orange-head's eyes lit up in the morning recognition, "Ah! The one with olive-coloured hair!" 

Kuroo hummed, "Yeah, him, his name's Ushijima Wakatoshi, he's a surgeon," A gasp from Hinata, "He has like.. A private hospital of some sort where he attends to the mem- special people." 

"Then there's Oikawa Tooru and Sawamura Daichi," Kuroo walked towards where they were, "Oikawa's the one dressed ridiculously good, the kind-of mean one," Hinata's nose scrunched up as he remembered, "Daichi's the one who told us to ease up." 

"What do they do?" 

_ Kill people, they specialize in assassination and such.  _

"They train people to be bodyguards.." Kenma spoke up, "Yaku's not from there though, all the people there are really good at fighting and combat."

"Oh.." 

"Then Kita Shinsuke." Kuroo continued, "The one with silver hair and black tips. His company does.." 

_ Thievery. Selling of information.  _

"Networking." Kuroo sighed. 

"Eh?" 

"Inarizaki does networking." 

"Oh.. I see.." Hinata muttered and Yaku shot him a dirty look, as if asking,  _ that's the best you could come up with?  _

"Now that you know, you can start tomorrow." Kenma spoke, and pulled a phone from his pocket, "You'll use this, it has a map and the numbers of the people you'll need to contact sometimes. You're not allowed to leak these numbers." 

Hinata marveled at the smartphone given to him, stars were practically in his eyes as he gently took the phone, "Really..? You're lending me this?" 

"It's yours. It has a digital map too, and can show you the way to the companies of our partners so you won't get lost." 

"Thank you.." Shouyou breathed out. 

"No problem, Chibi-chan." Kuroo smiled. 

"Well!" Lev suddenly spoke up, a grin on his face. 

"The loser will have to do a dare! And since Hinata and I won first, we'll be deciding on what you'll do, Kuroo-san." Chirped Lev. 

Kuroo glared at the half-Russian in a warning. A warning that Lev blatantly ignored as he pulled Hinata closer and leaned in to whisper. 

"Are you sure that's a great idea, Lev?" 

"Of course! Lev exclaimed happily, looking at Kuroo with his green eyes looking cunning. 

_ Goddammit.  _

* * *

Hinata had gone home thirty minutes ago, Lev and Yaku leaving with him for a meeting. It was still three o'clock in the afternoon so Lev probably had a board meeting and managed to escape Kuroo's wrath. 

The Cat Head stared at his right hand with a grimace while Kenma was laying on the couch and playing with his PSP again, completely ignoring Kuroo's pain. 

"Kenma.." 

"No." 

"Please, Kenma.. I'm your best friend, aren't I?" 

"Yes, but still, no." 

"I already have this shit with me for three weeks Kenma. Please don't make me suffer even more.." Tetsurou begged, in a few minutes, he'll have a video conference with the Heads, and he was told to show the abomination on his hand to the others as a punishment. 

"No. Besides, you lost, didn't you?" Kenma teased. 

"That's because you didn't want to put down +4 and you let Hinata win!" whined Kuroo. 

"What I do with my cards is none of your business, Kuroo." 

Tetsurou slumped down in his chair. 

Soon enough, Kita initiated a call, Kuroo wanted to decline the call but with a sharp gaze from Kenma, he sighed and accepted the call. 

The screen flashed the Heads' faces, all looking excited for the news of Hinata's employment. As expected of the Heads, they immediately sensed Kuroo's dampened mood. 

"Hinata didn't accept the job?" Daichi asked with a worried tone. 

Bokuto chirped, "Fukurodani will be happy to offer him a job!" 

"You already spent too much time with him, Bokuto!" Oikawa whined with a pout. 

"You can never spend  _ too much _ time with Hinata." said Bokuto with a laugh. 

"Well, I guess I'll never know because you keep on hogging him!" Fumed Oikawa, Iwaizumi only shook his head from behind him. 

"Well? Why are you looking like the world ended, Kuroo?" Ushijima asked the Cat Head, who only groaned, earning a chuckle from Kenma and confused looks from the other Heads. 

"Hinata accepted the job, he'll start tomorrow." Kuroo said with a grumble, his eyes not meeting their gazes as he stared on his right hand. 

"We played UNO, because Chibi-chan didn't feel comfortable with Yaku and Lev. The loser did a dare." Kuroo continued. 

As expected of the Heads, it already clicked in why Kuroo was in a sour mood, and so Oikawa laughed in a condescending way, Daichi's lips were twitching up as if he was holding back a smile while Bokuto blinked, and asked, "What's an UNO?" 

"You lost. What was the dare?" Kita asked, amusement clear in his eyes. 

Kuroo threw one more pleading look to Kenma who only motioned for him to show his hand already with a smirk. 

And with a groan, Kuroo held up his hand. 

"Holy shit." Daichi spoke, eyes wide. 

"What the fuck?! Oh hell, this is priceless!" Of course Oikawa went off and showed his mean side, whipping up his phone and quickly taking photos before Kuroo could even hide his hand, "I'm sending this to Suguru!" Screeched Oikawa, Iwaizumi politely held his laugh back behind him. 

"Is that a tattoo?" Bokuto asked. 

"It.. Suits you, Kuroo." Kita muttered with his lips curled into a smile. 

"Who's that?" Ushijima had his eyes squinted. 

Kuroo only groaned, his head hitting his wooden table, "I hate you all. And Kenma, I can hear you laughing from here!" 

Kita answered Toshi, "That's.. Hello Kitty, Ushijima." 

"Go search for it Wakatoshi." Oikawa butted in, "And Kuroo, holy fuck, you really went up and had that tattooed?" 

"No! Well, yes! Fuck.." Kuroo had a pained expression, "It's a henna tattoo, okay?! It's temporary! Tora had some kit with him, and guess what, it's Hinata who drew this himself!" 

"Yes, he drew such a pretty pink bow, some cute stars and hearts, _really_ captures the essence of being a Syndicate Head." Daichi jokes, full on grinning now. 

"I had a henna tattoo before," Kita spoke up, earning surprised glances. 

"Are we all gonna ignore that Kita said he had a tattoo before?" Oikawa asked no one in particular. 

"Hello Kitty, huh.. I guess it suits you then, Kuroo." The Cat Head immediately stared in horror at the Shiratorizawa head who only continued his words, undeterred, "Because you're cats. That is a kitty, a cat too, right?" 

"That's not the point, Ushi!" Kuroo exclaimed and groaned once more. 

Oikawa snorted a laugh, "Wakatoshi's right, I now proclaim you as Kitty-chan." 

"What the fuck?" 

"Kitty-chan then." Kita immediately spoke up. 

"You know Kita, you may seem nice, but you're as mean as Oikawa!" Kuroo pointed at the Fox Head, who only chuckled and shrugged. 

"Akaashi! Can I get a tattoo like that? I want it drawn by Shouyou too! Not Hello Kitty though." Bokuto was turned to the side, seemingly asking Akaashi, who only hummed. 

"You guys suck." Kuroo complained, "You too Kenma!" 

"Whatever you say, Kitty-chan." 

* * *

Hinata gently held up his new phone given by Kenma. 

He had visited a nearby phone shop and asked about the phone given to him, and found out that it was the latest model and the most expensive phone out in the market. 

He was almost scared to use it, but Tsukki had a smartphone, so he'd be able to teach him about how to use the phone and its complex apps. 

_ Speaking of Tsukki..  _ Hinata fished for his old phone, put the new phone in his little bag carefully, then dialled his brother's number on his flip phone, he should be on his little break. 

After a few moments, Tsukishima's voice filtered through the speaker. 

**_"Hinata? How was the interview?"_ ** Tsukki asked immediately. 

"It went great! I got the job! And they gave me a new phone too, it's the latest model!" 

Tsukki was silent for a moment and Hinata fidgeted in his bike seat, until his brother slowly spoke,  **_"Did you get scammed? Do you now owe someone a million yen?"_ **

Hinata stared at his phone, before bursting out, "Of course not, Tsukki! It was really Nekoma! I even met Haiba Lev! We took pictures too." 

**_"Fine."_ ** Tsukki sighed,  **_"Show me, tomorrow."_ ** Hinata blinked. 

"Tomorrow? You're not coming home?" Shouyou was shocked, Tsukki never went home late before, even in high school, they always went home together and ate together. 

**_"I'm coming home, just a bit later than usual. Don't wait for me, you have your first day at the job tomorrow, so you should sleep early."_ ** Hinata heard fumbling from Tsukki's side, then a slam of locker,  **_"I'll tell you everything tomorrow too."_ **

"Are you going on a date?" 

Tsukki was once again silent. 

**_"...Yes."_ **

That made Hinata grin, "Really?!" A laugh escaped him, "Okay, okay, have fun! I won't tell Aki yet, use protection!" 

Shouyou heard as his brother choked on nothing,  **_"Wh- You shouldn't talk about that!"_ **

"Tsukki, I'm twenty-one, not ten. Even I know about those things." Hinata deadpanned, earning a groan from Tsukki,  **_"Fine fine! We'll talk tomorrow morning, my break is almost over, don't set the apartment on fire. Eat your dinner, sleep well, okay? Don't set the apartment on fire."_ **

"I'm not ten!" Hinata shook his head with a smile, "Have fun Kei. See you tomorrow." 

Hinata hung up, a smile still playing on his face, who would've thought that someone could find their way inside Tsukki's sarcastic and snarky heart? That person must be a saint. 

_ I hope Tsukki introduces me to them soon.  _ Hinata chuckled, before pedalling his bike towards home, and despite having to eat alone, his heart felt full. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Let Hinata lose or draw 25 cards*
> 
> Kenma: *holds up an array of cards*All for Shouyou.
> 
> -  
> The Heads and everyone who met Hinata for like 5 mins: I've only known Hinata Shouyou for five minutes but if anyone even dares to hurt a single hair on him I'll shoot everyone in this room.
> 
> -
> 
> Hiiii! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, since my week sucked.
> 
> I have a shit ton of work to do every week and it drains me, haikyuu's been my stress-reliever. Thank gods for Haikyuu and our bois. 
> 
> Anyway, to all my readers out there, I'd like to ask a favour, last Wednesday, I saw a work of mine plagiarised. It was a mini one shot, with 1000 words that I posted on my Facebook account for ppl to read, I didn't even think of posting it on Ao3 because I didn't feel that it was good enough (I've posted chapter one of this story too there). Don't worry, I immediately commented, and a friend of mine (and her friend) commented and reported the story too, so it got taken down in two hours. 
> 
> I learned my lesson and I took down all my works on Facebook to prevent any more trouble. I also gained a few readers of this fic from my posts on Facebook, so shout out to all the peeps who came from there! Ily. 
> 
> Now, my favour is that, if anyone sees copies of my work in any other sites, please report it, I'm not publishing my work anywhere other than Ao3, and if I ever do, I'll post a notice here first. I don't like repeating the feeling of having my work stolen anymore, so it'll mean a lot if even one of you will report and reach out to me if this fic ever gets stolen (not that it's worth stealing, but it's better to be sure). Thank you so much in advance. 
> 
> On another note, I love all your comments so much! And I feel bad for not responding to all of you, but my sched's really hectic, so I apologize T^T
> 
> Srry for the mini rant and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! See you next week! 
> 
> [ twitter](https://twitter.com/fujoshismochi)
> 
> Kazuu.
> 
> Edit:My forgetful ass forgot, dear readers choose:
> 
> Cyan or Black?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Hi! So sorry for the two-week absence, I was having fevers that got worse because I still had to do my work. I'm all better now though! Thanks for the readers who reached out to me! You guys warm my heart <3
> 
> Also, Black won the last time, so Karasuno's the next faction Shou will visit. (I really had a hard time choosing between Aoba and Karasuno)
> 
> Edit: Blood and Violence ahead
> 
> Enjoy this (unedited) chapter!

Kei placed his phone back in his locker. Once again fixing his uniform before stepping out of the locker room and towards the bustling kitchen. 

He was gotten a hold of immediately and ushered to serve the fancy meals the restaurant offered, and just like before, he placed a tight smile on his face and served the high-class customers with fake glee. 

The world moved fast around him as he maneuvered with ease, he always found his body easy to move (must be because of his very active high school days where he didn't slack off in volleyball training and his figure remained fit and lean), but despite the way his surroundings quickly moved, the time seemed to go by excruciatingly slow. 

_Another two hours of this.._ Groaned Kei in his mind as he carefully placed the plates on the table for a couple. Seeing the two only made Tsukki feel like time was punishing him for being too slow. 

_I want to see Tadashi._ Tsukki whined, once more only inside his head, and so with the thought of his date, he continued to serve people 

-

"Uh, hi, Tsukki!" A sweet voice gathered Kei's attention immediately, his eyes searching for the person who spoke. 

"Yamaguchi." Kei did his best to keep the excitement from bleeding into his tone, and he deliberately took even and slow steps to the male who stood waiting for him outside the restaurant. "You look a bit different from the last time." 

And then the blond had the opportunity to witness Yamaguchi Tadashi's face resemble a strawberry, his favourite fruit of all time. 

"That's because I was wearing my work clothes! This is how I usually dress!" Yamaguchi motioned to his get-up, "Do.. Do you not like it?" Tadashi could only throw a nervous glance at the tall waiter. 

Kei took in the light green hoodie paired with worn out black jeans along with a pair of beat-up sneakers, his lips twitching into a small smile, "I don't mean that, I mean, I'm glad you decided to wear that. Look at what I'm wearing." Tsukki motioned at his clothes too, which were a black cotton t-shirt with a small star on it, hidden by his thick purple jacket that shielded him from the cold, almost the same-looking black jeans and his trusted sneakers. They matched a bit. 

"Besides, you told me you'll show me the greatest places in this city, right?" Tsukishima walked to Tadashi's side, "I'm hoping to be impressed." 

Yamaguchi blinked for a few seconds, before a bright grin that made the corners of his eyes crinkle bloomed on his face and stunned Kei. "Alright then, follow me." As Yamaguchi began to walk, his left hand brushed with Kei's right, and both their attention got directed to the brief contact. 

They stared at their hands for a bit, like idiots who had never seen hands in their life, before sharing a look. Tsukishima cleared his throat, "Uh. It's autumn.." 

"Yeah, it's kind of cold.."

"Do you want to..?" 

"Yes, please.. I mean," A blush colored Yamaguchi's face once more, "If you want to.." 

Kei slowly and steadily reached out for Tadashi's hand, which turned out to be warm, comforting. Their fingers laced comfortably around each other, sharing each others' warmth that contrasted the chilly air around them. The blond briefly admired the amazed look on Tadashi's face before the male tugged him along the street. 

"Come, Tsukki. I know where to go first." 

-

"So your brother still calls you _'Tsukki'_?" Yamaguchi asked, "That's adorable." 

Kei hummed before swallowing the dango in his mouth, "Yeah, it's kind of.. A thing, I guess. We used to play volleyball together, and our team would call us the _Eclipse_."

Tsukishima smiled a bit at the fond memories, when Hinata was still shorter than his short figure now, a little tangerine who couldn't hold the ball with one hand and sucked at serving. 

"His last name's Hinata, so I guess that's why." Explained Kei. 

"Ah." Tadashi chuckled, "How adorable." The green-haired male threw a glance at him before facing back the calm river, the bright lights of the towering skyscrapers illuminated on the water and gave it an ethereal glow. The two sat on the soft grass (that kind of stained their pants but they'd worry about it later) by the riverside, eating dango even though they already ate the best goddamn ramen Tsukki had ever tasted (which wasn't served in a fancy restaurant but in a little tucked-away stall that radiated a vibe that reminded Tsukki of home). They also visited a huge arcade that had ridiculous prizes (Tsukki thanked the stars that he decided to bring a little extra money) and had fun for a few hours, the evidence were the little matching plushies they had. 

Tsukki looked at the water and admired the way the lights danced an unknown rhythm on it, humming in agreement as he was reminded of his little brother alone in their apartment. He hoped he ate and was already sleeping. 

"So Hinata's adopted?" Tadashi hesitantly asked. 

"Yeah," Tsukki confirmed, "It's not really a sensitive issue for me, sure, the little carrot used to annoy the living daylights out of me but we got closer soon enough." A chuckle escaped him, "Me and our older brother just adores him." 

In all honesty, Kei didn't know why he was freely spilling his heart's content to Yamaguchi when this was their first date ever. Hell, the only things he knew about the male was that he was the same age as him, he had no siblings or family in the city, and that his job mostly required him staying up and ready to be called anytime. 

There was something about Yamaguchi that drew out the honest, non-sarcastic part out of Tsukishima. 

"Oh, was he very lively?" Tadashi asked, amused. 

Tsukki was silent for a few moments, earning a raised brow from Yamaguchi. 

"No.." Tsukishima looked at the water once more, "He wasn't lively, he was very quiet in his first year with us actually." 

Tsukki held back a grimace as he remembered the soulless eyes that stared up at him and Akiteru, the dull brown eyes that seemed to study their every move. 

"He became cheery after a year, I think, and then he began annoying me every single day." _I prefer the current version of Hinata over the first one we had any day._ Tsukishima added in his mind. 

"You love him." Tadashi stated with a smile, "How sweet." 

"Don't ever tell him that." Kei said with a half-joking tone. 

"Wait you're planning on introducing me to him?" 

The question made Kei still, was he planning to introduce Tadashi to Hinata? 

"Yeah.. Soon." Mumbled Tsukki. 

"So.. Do I interpret this as you saying we'll have another date?" Tadashi asked with an impish smile. Over the course of their date, Tadashi's shyness was chipped away, leaving a Tadashi that liked to lightly tease him and flirt with him. Tsukishima liked it a lot. 

"I--Yes. I'd like to go out with you again." Tsukishima blurted out, earning a laugh from his date. 

"Sure. Let's set the date soon, Tsukki.

* * *

**_"Yamaguchi, someone incoming to your left."_ ** Kageyama's stoic and cold voice filtered through the earpiece. Tadashi's eyes quickly darted to the direction he was told to and put up the gun near his shoulder level, his both hands gripping the weapon securely, shooting before the enemy could even see him. 

Kiyoko-san's brand new design of their camouflaged clothes work really well. 

The man groaned in pain as he was shot on his chest, Tadashi wasted no time and shot twice, one through the head and another on the chest, immediately leaving no chances for survival. 

He moved once more with silent steps, eyes looking for any hidden enemy that Kageyama couldn't pinpoint from his position. 

When he found none, he quickly but securely made his way to the back entrance of the highly guarded warehouse of some sort, where their target took haven in. It will turn to hell soon enough, especially with Nishinoya with them. 

Going straight to a mission after his date made him felt quite queasy, especially when he couldn't even tell Tsukishima what he did for a living. He was forced to lie to the person he liked. 

**_"Tadashi, I'm almost done with the pest, have you gotten any trouble?"_ **Sugawara's kind voice filtered, making Yamaguchi tense up a bit despite the gentle tone. 

"Ah, Suga-san, there were at least a dozen pests. I've taken care of them already." Yamaguchi whispered in a low tone and earned a hum. 

**_"Good, stay safe."_ **

After three more men disposed of, Yamaguchi finally made it to the actual warehouse. Treading his feet as light as he could, he sneakily entered through the back entrance and hid behind the large rectangular, metal containers, slowly peeking. 

"Is that you, Tadashi?" The green-haired male relaxed a bit as he heard the voice of their Head. 

Putting his gun down, but not keeping it in his holster (in case there was someone they haven't noticed yet) he emerged from his hiding spot, immediately greeted by the sight of Suga's warm smile and the approving look in Daichi's eyes. 

Nishinoya was there too, fiddling with the bomb they had for the final show (which was really shouldn't be fiddled with), Tanaka wiping away the little blood he got on his hands, Asahi holding the Ishikawa patriarch against the floor (who was crying pathetically). Ennoshita seemed like he was putting all the corpses away and paying a little respect to them. They were still human after all, it's just that they had the unfortunate fate of being the Syndicate's enemies. 

"Can I blow this up already?" Nishinoya looked up at the Head excitedly as Yamaguchi finally tucked in his gun. He was surrounded by his family, and despite being surrounded by corpses, he felt safe with them. 

"No, Noya. Not yet." Daichi groaned, "Do you want to blow us up with the bastard?" 

"I'll never blow Asahi up!" Nishinoya laughed, standing up from his crouching position and skipping towards Asahi, "Only in bed," The bearded giant made a choked noise at the comment. 

Sugawara let out a laugh, "Well, it's _nice_ to hear that you only care for Asahi, Nishinoya." 

The short male only laughed at that, eyes lit up with glee and a dangerous glint. Tadashi knew that no matter how cheerful Nishinoya was, he was still a Syndicate member, someone who joined even before him. 

Daichi cleared his throat, gathering all the Crows' attention. It signalled the end of their harmless fun and the smooth transition to being the Syndicate members that they all were.

"Ishikawa-san." The Crow Head regarded the sobbing tycoon. 

"I'm sorry!" Was the garbled words that left the man's mouth with a pitiful sob. "I'll stay loyal to the Syndicate! I'll dedicate my mind, heart and soul! Just--"

"We don't need your corrupted and treacherous heart." Sugawara suddenly interrupted with a cold voice that sent shivers even through the Crows' spines. 

"And I'm pretty sure your little mind's worthless, dumbass." Tanaka snickered a bit after a moment, "And a man like you definitely don't have a soul."

Ishikawa only whimpered against the hard concrete as Sugawara spoke, "You have no heir, don't you?" 

The man glared weakly at the second-in-command. 

"You see.. A Fox already infiltrated your board of directors, once you die, your whole business will belong to the Syndicate." Sugawara curled his lips into a cruel smile, contrasting his angel-like looks, "There's really no reason for us to keep you alive, old man." 

The man cried against the concrete. Yamaguchi guessed that the male had a few broken ribs, and his face was bleeding, he seemed like he was missing teeth too. 

Yamaguchi pursed his lips and subtly turned his attention to something else. He had already spent two years in the Syndicate, yet there were times that he couldn't even look at the cruel acts of the people he called family. 

Well, it wasn't like he hadn't killed before, hell, he just eliminated fifteen people not even an hour ago, and it certainly wasn't like he didn't love Karasuno with all his heart. 

It was just that there were times that he remembered that they were killing human beings. People who had lives and loved ones. 

Ennoshita's sharp eyes caught his subtle movement and if Ennoshita noticed then there was no way Daichi didn't. Ennoshita approached him with gentleness that contrasted his blood-stained fingers. 

"Tadashi, can you check outside?" _There were other underlings outside, if anyone's out there they're probably dead._ "Ah, go ask Kageyama if he's okay too." _Kageyama's the most gifted among them, if someone could hurt Kageyama then they can probably kill Yamaguchi with ease._

Despite knowing all that, Ennoshita still asked him to, because despite being ruthless, the Crows care for one another. 

Yamaguchi nodded, his lip forming a small appreciative smile, "Will do!" 

The green-haired male made his way outside through the back entrance where he first entered. His eyes quickly scanning the surroundings, he caught one of the lesser Karasuno members who just just took care of an enemy, the member nodded respectfully at him. 

Tadashi gave a small wave, then raised his fingers to his earpiece. Yamaguchi only was a member for two years, but he rose to the upper echelon quite quickly because of his remarkable hand combat skills. He was particularly great with little daggers and knives more than guns. Guns work easier than knives though, so he settled for one this mission. 

Kageyama, their sniper, on the other hand, was skilled at everything. The young dark-haired male only joined a few months before him but with his talents even superior to Yamaguchi's (Ennoshita-san said Kageyama's talents were greater than Tanaka's and his too), he was a well-known Syndicate member. 

Kageyama's family was quite famous too, especially for his grandfather who was one of the best known snipers in the underworld. Yamaguchi heard that the male got ties with the Grand King of Seijoh too. 

"Kageyama?" Tadashi called out once he activated his ear piece, it took a few moments until he earned a hum from the male. 

"Are you alright?" Yamaguchi asked with a laugh. There was a moment of silence until, 

**_"Yes..?"_ ** The male's tone was hesitant and confused, after all, the members rarely checked up on him because they believed in his astounding skills. 

"Good, good. I'm sure we'll wrap up soon enough." Said Yamaguchi as he began walking around, eyes sharp for signs of ambush. 

**_"I'm.."_ ** A grunt came from Kageyama, **_"Starting to tuck in my things too."_ ** He sounded quite peeved, Tadashi couldn't blame him, his type of gun was quite heavy after all. 

Yamaguchi hummed, he was walking around in silence when a particularly loud grunt escaped Kageyama.

"Kageyama?" 

**_"Fuck-"_ ** Tadashi tensed at the clattering of metal, eyebrows pinched in confusion, **_"Someone's here."_ **

Yamaguchi felt his blood run cold, immediately he ran to where Kageyama was. 

"Kage--" Tadashi lost connection with the male. 

"Shit!" He didn't know if Suga or the others noticed, so he tapped the earpiece, even though he knew that with the way he was sprinting, the air was probably messing with his mic. 

**_"Tadashi?"_ ** Suga's worried tone reached his ears, **_"Why are you running?"_ **

Yamaguchi slowed for a bit, panting out his words quickly, "Kageyama. Lost connection. Attacked." 

Tadashi heard shuffling from the other side of the line, and not a beat after, Suga spoke, **_"Go, Tadashi, we don't know how many got to Kageyama."_ **

Yamaguchi tapped his earpiece once more, gulping air before he began to sprint once more, a little faster than before. The world around him was but a blur of dark blue and black with ripples of dim light yet he could clearly see the obstacles and things that could hinder his run, jumping and dodging without wasting time. 

_Please be safe._

Tadashi knew that no matter how gifted Kageyama was, there was a very huge possibility of him getting hurt and injured if he was ganged up on. 

Minutes seemed like hours before he finally reached the small building where Kageyama was. 

With the slam of a rusty door, he quickly climbed up three stories of stairs, adrenaline rushing through him. He threw open the rooftop's door, his ears not even registering the awful sound of rusted hinges and his whole focus on Kageyama. 

"Kage-" 

"Fucking bastards." 

Yamaguchi tensed at the seething tone of the dark-haired male who looked absolutely feral, his cheeks marred with haunting red of blood, eyes glinted with malice and lunacy that seemed sharper than Yamaguchi's knives themselves. His hands, one bare and the other still had the fingerless gloves on, were soaked with fresh blood as the man heaved. The sniper rifle was dripping with blood, and Yamaguchi shivered at the whole sight before him. 

Kageyama Tobio, cloaked in pure black that complemented his hair, blood covering him as the moon casted shadows on his being, looked like the exact epitome of a carnivorous crow. 

It was _terrifying._

Tadashi made the mistake of glancing on the ground. 

Three men. All dead and bloody. 

Two had their throats slit and stabbed a couple of times on the chest while the last man, the one closest to Kageyama, had his head deformed and all bloodied, his skull was cracked open. 

Tadashi now knew why the sniper rifle had blood on it. 

Kageyama heaved for a few more minutes, seemingly not noticing Yamaguchi's presence. Tadashi had his voice held up in terror.

The green-haired male flinched when Kageyama's sharp gaze flitted to him. 

"Yamaguchi." 

"K-Kageyama." Tadashi cursed the stutter. 

"Did I worry you? Sorry, they caught me off-guard, they ripped the earpiece away from me too." A _tsk_ escaped Kageyama as his wet fingers touched his left cheek, flinching as his fingertips touched the skin and dyed it red. 

"Fucker cut me with his nail." Hissed Kageyama, Yamaguchi finally moved from being glued to his spot, letting out a nervous laugh. 

"Ah, I shouldn't have called Sugawara-san then.." Tadashi's voice was laced with nervousness. He didn't know if Kageyama noticed. 

"Are you injured anywhere? Shot? Stabbed?" 

"No," The sniper grunted, "Bastard gave me a harsh kick though, so I'll probably have a bruise tomorrow." Kageyama pointed to the man closest to him, Yamaguchi didn't dare look down again. 

Tadashi walked towards the sniper, purposely avoiding the dead bodies as he helped the sniper pack up his things. Kageyama cursed under his breath at the weight of his sniper rifle, "I'll have to clean this tomorrow.." 

Tadashi picked up the discarded bloody switchblade thrown to the side, letting out a yelp as the creaky sound of the door startled them. 

"Kageyama, Tadashi!" Sugawara's voice eased the tension off the two's bodies even just a bit. The silver-haired male came with Asahi. 

"Are you two alright?" The second-in-command asked, eyes scanning them quickly, darting to the dead bodies yet quickly disregarding them. 

"We're fine, Suga-san. Kageyama was.. Already safe when I got here." Tadashi explained, pulling out a dark-coloured cloth from his back pocket and wiping clean the switchblade. 

"That's good." Sighed Asahi. "Let's go now, you two, Noya's been buzzing to set the bomb," 

The two nodded, Asahi helped out Kageyama with the rifle (since Kageyama's adrenaline wore off and his chest part was aching badly) as Sugawara led them down the building and to the cars parked a few blocks away from the warehouse, a safe distance. 

Daichi was already there, with Tanaka and the other crows, Nishinoya was probably sprinting his way to them too. 

"Are you safe?" Daichi asked the moment they were in earshot. 

Kageyama and Tadashi nodded, Daichi quickly scanned over their figures. "Good. Let's go wait for Noya." 

The Crows boarded their cars that blended into the night, a few minutes later, Noya came barrelling in and joined the car where Asahi was. 

The city woke up to the news of the famous businessman Ishikawa caught up in the huge explosion in an abandoned property.

* * *

_"Papa." A young orange-haired kid called out to the man in the kitchen who was preparing onigiris._

_"Shou." The man turned to him with the sweetest smile. "What's that?"_

_"I drew us! Mama and Nacchan too." The little kid presented the piece of paper with a grin, colored wax wedged into his fingernails, an evidence of his hard work over his art._

_"That's beautiful." The man leaned in and kissed the child's forehead. "Is Nacchan still coughing?"_

_The kid's grin faltered, yet he still kept it._

_"No.. I'll get her some water then!" The kid shuffled to the small living room, discarding the drawing on the floor as he entered the kitchen once more, dragging a little stool with him and carefully standing on it, grabbing a glass to be filled with water._

_"Thank you, Shou. Please take care of our girls as I prepare food, okay?" The man's voice called out to the child._

_"Of course! I promise!" Chocolate-amber eyes lit up, paired with a grin that was comparable to the sun._

* * *

Hinata slowly opened his eyes, his body clock acting up and working way better than any alarm clock. 

He snaked his hand around the bed, searching for his old phone he left right beside him before sleeping. He flipped it and the little screen lit up. 

_5:38 am_

While slowly rubbing his eyes, he lifted his body off the bed with one arm, his movements sluggish of sleep, he got out of bed and shivered a bit at the cold floor that met his slightly warm feet. He left the phone on his little nightstand beside the brand new (and very expensive) phone that he took a little time studying last night (he marveled at everything) and went out of his room. 

Silence filled their little apartment, there was a stillness in it that made Hinata comfortable. A smile spread on Shouyou's face as he remembered the reason why Tsukki wasn't up and preparing breakfast like he usually did. 

_Tsukki had a date. Tsukki. The prickly, stingy Tsukishima Kei._

Shouyou walked to their shared bathroom and went to the sink to wash his sleepiness away, he brushed his teeth briefly before leaving the room. He made his way to the small living room where he stretched his still-sleepy limbs awake, and when he was satisfied, he went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast for the day. 

He looked over their mini fridge, scanning the ingredients he could use and taking a mental note that he and Tsukki should shop for groceries on their day off. The orange-head settled for the traditional omurice and cracked open some eggs and began working. 

Halfway through cooking, Shouyou heard Tsukki's door open and closed with a _click._

"Good morning, Tsukki." Hinata spoke with a gentle yet still cheerful tone without looking at his brother. They didn't have that big of an apartment so he was sure he was heard. 

Hinata heard the bathroom door being opened once more, followed by the rush of water. He let his brother be as he continued with their breakfast. 

Shouyou had finished preparing their breakfast by the time Tsukki emerged from the bathroom, he was a little freshened up. Hinata immediately noticed the bags under his brother's eyes, but his worries eased when he saw the lit expression in his usually nonchalant eyes. 

"Come eat, Tsukki!" 

Kei mumbled a _thanks_ before dragging one of the chairs out and taking his seat, Hinata following suit. 

The two ate with comfortable silence at first. As loud and cheerful Hinata was, he respected his brother's privacy and didn't want to force him to talk about his date the night before (not that it meant that he wasn't interested, he just didn't want to force Tsukki). Hinata also knew that despite the snarky exterior the blond had, he still thought of Shouyou as a brother. 

Halfway through eating, Tsukki cleared his throat, making Hinata perk up. 

"So.." Kei looked unsure of where to start. 

"So..?" Prompted Hinata with a smile. 

"When's your new job gonna start?" 

Okay, that wasn't what Hinata was expecting but he answered nonetheless. 

"Oh, I start at nine a.m. today!" 

"And they really hired you?" Tsukki looked like he didn't fully believed it. 

Hinata huffed. "Yes! It's a delivery job anyway." 

Tsukki raised a brow, "Why would Nekoma need a delivery boy?" 

"Kuroo-san said that they need a not suspicious delivery boy, and because I'm gonna deliver on bike, I don't look like I'm delivering important and highly classified stuff." Hinata explained then took a bite of his food. 

"Well, that makes sense," Tsukki looked at him, "But why you?" 

"Don't know!" Chirped Hinata honestly, "I won't let this chance go though, the pay's insane!" 

"The whole situation is insane." Tsukki rebutted. "You got a phone? They gave you one?" 

Hinata nodded, 

"Okay then, you probably don't know how those apps work, right?" 

Hinata let out a sheepish smile, "No.." 

"I'll teach you later." 

-

"So here's the map. You type out the place where you want to go," The blond typed _Nekoma._ The screen flashed the fastest route from their apartment to the Nekoma building; Hinata marveled at it. 

"I won't get lost ever again!" Exclaimed Hinata with stars in his eyes, not noticing the fond look Tsukki was giving him. 

"I sure hope not. You're gonna be delivering after all." Remarked the blond before silence took over. 

Tsukishima cleared his throat. 

"Uh.. I guess.."

"You guess..?" Hinata looked at his brother with an excitement-filled expression. 

"I have to tell you about my date.." Tsukki resorted to mumbling but Hinata heard loud and clear, his grin growing wider as a blush took over Tsukki's cheeks. 

Hinata hummed as he tried to restrain the grin he wore, only to spare his brother further embarrassment. 

"So.. We went to a few hidden places in the city, like this ramen shop that had the best ramen I've ever tasted," Tsukki smiled a bit at that, "Yes, it's better than yours, Shou." 

Shouyou pouted at that, "Tell me where it is and I'll be the judge of that." 

"We also went to this huge arcade that had ridiculous prizes," Tsukki chuckled, "He wanted the crow plush so badly that he almost spent too much on it, I got it for him though." 

"You're so sweet, Tsukki!" Kei faked a cough at that. 

"And we ate more snacks then went sightseeing. The city's beautiful at night." Kei scratched the back of his head. "If things work out, I'll introduce you two."

Hinata grinned and hugged his brother, startling Tsukki with his warmth, Kei soon relaxed into the hug and awkwardly hugged his brother back. 

"Good luck, Kei." 

Hinata couldn't see the soft smile on Tsukki's face as he hugged him and mumbled back, "Thanks, Shou."

* * *

Hinata once again, stared gaping at the grand building of Nekoma. 

"I'm gonna work there for a month." Hinata mumbled to himself as he got off his bike, holding it with two hands as he walked to the entrance. 

Hinata let his eyes wander, extravagant cars were littered and people in suits milled about the surroundings. He felt awfully out of place, wearing his nicest shirt (that still paled in comparison to what the others were wearing) and his beige shorts that go down just below his knees. His trusted bike was a contrast to the cars too. 

The orange-head withered a bit, but he remembered Kenma, Kuroo, Lev and Yaku. He made friends with those people, and if Shouyou guessed correctly, Kuroo and Kenma had high positions in Nekoma. So he straightened his back, even when he felt inquisitive eyes lingering on him and began to walk to the spot where he could lock his bike. 

"Hinata Shouyou?" The carrot-top turned as he heard his name, meeting the gaze of a man with a shaved head, smiling kindly at him. 

_He's tall!_

"You're Hinata Shouyou, right? Kuroo told me to look out for someone with orange hair." The stranger said with a gentle tone. 

"Ah! Yes! I'm Hinata Shouyou!" Hinata gave a bow (well, it was an awkward one since he was still holding his bike). The man waved his hand with a smile. 

"I'm Nobuyuki Kai, a Nekoma mem-- worker, come, I'll show you a place where you can keep your bike safe." 

Hinata nodded and followed as the man led him. He stared up at the male with curious eyes. Nobuyuki Kai wore a dull black dress shirt and black pants, it seemed like it was the common uniform for them since Taketora and Fukunaga wore the same clothes. Hinata was led away from the cars and to a place near the back of the building, where there were rows of lush green bushes lining the concrete. 

"You can park your bike here now, rest assured it will be safe." Kai motioned to the bike rack.

Hinata's eyes widened with glee, "Was it always here?" The carrot-top led his bike into the rack and fetched his chain and lock from the basket. 

"No, but people work fast when it's Kenma who gave orders." Kai said with a chuckle. 

"Eh?" Hinata turned to the man, not knowing the innocence he exuded. 

"I kind of get why they're so protective of you." Kai mumbled so that Hinata couldn't hear. 

Shouyou finished tucking in his bike, walking to Kai who waited for him with a hop in his step. 

"Ah, thanks for showing me, Nobuyuki-senpai!" Hinata gave his sunshine-filled grin to Kai whose grin tightened. 

"S-sure.. Come, let's go see Kuroo and Kenma." 

* * *

It was needless to say that Kai was surprised to know that Kenma and Kuroo got themselves a delivery boy while he was away. 

He had accompanied Nekomata-sensei and Ukai Keishin's family to the country where the older Ukai was. 

_"We need a delivery boy."_ Kuroo stated as he worked on the documents on his desk, Kenma hummed in agreement from the couch. 

_"And we only decided to get one now, even though we operated for years already because..?"_ Kai asked, he didn't really understand why they needed one. 

_"Because we only found the perfect delivery boy just a few days ago."_ Kenma spoke, his eyes glued to the game he was playing. 

_"Trust me, Kai, it's for the good of The Syndicate."_ Kuroo said with his signature smirk. 

Kai was still unsure, however, Kuroo was the Head, so he didn't object. He'd just see where this will go. _"Alright then."_

Well, Hinata Shouyou was certainly unique. 

Kai found the way the carrot-top appreciated everything was endearing to him. 

He led the little orange-head inside, shielding him from the others' eyes. 

Hinata brightened as they got to Kuroo's door. Kai knocked twice, and heard a muffled _come in._

Opening the door, he found Kenma standing near Kuroo who sat in his usual spot. Kenma perked up as Hinata peeked from behind him, orange hair standing out in a cute way. 

"Shouyou." A small smile immediately painted itself on Kenma's face, making Kai raise his brow, he met Kuroo's amused gaze. 

Kai stepped aside and motioned for Hinata to enter, the orange-head nodded gratefully at him.

Kenma was already walking towards Hinata, "Shouyou, come here." Hinata bounced on his feet to get to where Kenma was. The faux blond led Hinata to sit on the couch with him and took his game from his back pocket. 

"Help me with this level." Muttered Kenma and the carrot-top beside him only chuckled and nodded. 

Kai watched in amusement as the two interacted. It was quite bizarre, seeing Kenma allow someone other than Kuroo to sit so close to him, the faux blond talked with no restraints and smiled a lot too. 

After an hour of playing, Kuroo finally finished on the stack of documents and cleared his throat. 

All of them straightened up, Hinata's gaze sharpened. 

"So Hinata, you'll be delivering this." Kuroo presented a brown envelope, "To Karasuno. It's very important, don't lose it and don't get it wet." 

Kai saw Hinata gulp and nodded, standing up from the couch and gingerly taking the envelope from Kuroo. In all honesty, Kai didn't know what was in the envelope. 

"You should type in _Karasuno_ on your phone so the map can show you how to get there." Kenma spoke softly, Hinata hummed and nodded. 

After a few minutes, Hinata was all set and Kai was once again leading him to the bike racks. 

"Now, Kuroo said you don't have anything else to do today, so you can stay there a while," Kai pictured the Crows, 

_I think they'll make you stay._ Kai added in his mind. 

"Okay! Thanks, Nobuyuki-senpai." Hinata beamed up at him. 

"You can call me Kai, Hinata." 

"Kai-senpai!" Hinata gave him the brightest grin yet, eyes crinkled at the sides with just how wide his smile was. 

_Thunk._ That was the sound in his mind when Kai felt Cupid's arrow pierce his heart. 

"Stay safe, Hinata." the male waved to the orange-head who unlocked his bike and took a bag from his basket, placing the strap on his shoulders and putting the envelope in. 

"Will do! See you!" 

"I probably won't see you until the end of the day, so stay safe." Kai murmured before going back inside the Nekoma building.

* * *

Shouyou blinked at Karasuno's place. 

It looked like a grand mansion with black and white exteriors. There was an expanse of land where cars were lined up. A circular fountain surrounded by flower beds before one could get to the entrance. 

The problem was that Hinata didn't know how he'd enter, since it seemed weird to straight up knock on the huge wooden doors. It seemed like a really rich family was living there instead of a business. 

Hinata was staring up at the place when he heard a crunch of stones under feet far too close for comfort. 

_I didn't even notice that someone's here!_

Hinata froze as something was held up to his neck. 

Shouyou trembled as his mind screamed at him to _run._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand there's that! I'll try my best to update next week!
> 
> [ twitter](https://twitter.com/fujoshismochi)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yeets the chapter at you* ENJOY!
> 
> this chapter's unedited.

Hinata reeled back from the thing held up to his neck, eyes wide and frightened, but his motion was stopped by a body behind him. 

Hinata slowly glanced down at the item, eyes almost bulging as he saw something he least expected. 

"She's beautiful, right?" A voice, sounding a little threatening, spoke from behind him. 

Shouyou took a little moment, blinking at the photo of a bespectacled, black-haired woman who had a small smile on her face. 

And with a nervous laugh, Hinata nodded, opening his mouth to speak, "Y-yeah.. She is." His voice came out shaky. 

The man behind him lightly slapped his back, "Come on man! Why are you so tense? I even blessed you with Kiyoko-san's beauty!" 

Taking a step away from the unknown man, Hinata turned to look at the person who surprised him, as he held his bike with one hand. 

Shouyou's eyes widened once more, as he saw someone that reminded him too much of Taketora from Nekoma. 

Shouyou tilted his head, looking at the male who laughed proudly, "Aren't you glad you got to see Kiyoko-san?" 

"Who?" 

"Ryu!" A voice gathered their attention, and Hinata saw a male‒a little shorter than him‒barrelling towards them. 

"Is this him? Holy shit! Orange hair!" The Unknown man #2 laughed, "I guess I owe Tadashi a hundred yen." 

"Noya! I was surprised to see orange hair too." Unknown man #1 high-fived with #2. 

"Um." Hinata interrupted, his voice quickly catching the pair's attention. 

"Oh! Sorry about that, Chikara said we get too excited." #1 said as he scratched the back of his shaved head. He pocketed the picture of the bespectacled woman (who was really beautiful). 

_ Yeah. That's a bit of an understatement. I didn't notice him at all. But..  _

"There's no such thing as 'too excited'!" #2, a brunet, with a tuff of dyed hair, proclaimed proudly. 

_ They seem really nice..? Just really.. Rowdy.  _

"Yes, and you'll spook him if you continue that." A new voice interrupted. Shouyou saw both male tense up, their smiles growing tight. 

"I'm so sorry about that," A new male (Unknown man #3) walked towards them, behind him, Hinata could see the large wooden doors of the mansion (office?) were open, so #3 came from inside. 

The new man smiled at him, and Hinata couldn't help but wave a bit. The new man had a kind expression on his face, his smile growing wide as Hinata waved at him. 

"Hinata Shouyou, right?" The man asked the moment he got to where Shouyou and the other two were, "Kuroo-san told Daichi-san that you'd come." 

Hinata nodded, hands darting to get the documents he was asked to deliver. 

"Ah! Here, Kuroo-san asked me to deliver these safely." Hinata gently handed the documents to #3, but the man shook his head. 

"It's better if you deliver it straight to Daichi-san, come inside," #3 pointed to a clear spot next to a nearby tree, "We don't have a bike rack, but you can leave your bike there, it'll be safe." 

Hinata nodded, "I'm Ennoshita Chikara, from Karasuno." 

#3 introduced himself, and Hinata finally took the luxury of taking in the whole appearance of the man. 

He wore a plain gray-coloured shirt and black sweatpants. He had a slightly muscular build that showed in his casual clothing. He was wearing plain slip-on slippers too. 

Shouyou quickly turned to the other two, and saw that they were wearing almost the same casual outfit like Ennoshita, except that Tanaka and Noya had sneakers on. 

"I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke." The male with a shaved head that spooked Shouyou spoke with a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, did I really spook you out?" 

Hinata nodded, the last unknown man laughed freely. 

"I'm Nishinoya Yuu! Ni-shi-no-ya. Got it?" The shortest male introduced himself, "Is your hair naturally orange?" 

Hinata touched his hair on instinct, a smile forming on his face as he heard the question he'd been asked about a thousand times already in his lifetime. 

"Yes." Shouyou couldn't help but laugh, "My mother and sister had orange hair too." 

"That's so awesome." Whispered Tanaka and Nishinoya, Ennoshita just chuckled from behind them. 

"You two are so surprised when Tendou from Shiratorizawa have natural red hair." Ennoshita remarked. 

Hinata squawked, "Red hair?!" 

"Yeah! He has red hair! He's this tall kind of scary guy from Shiratorizawa! He always talks about playing with my guts when he gets to give me a surgery." Tanaka shuddered, "He terrifies me." 

Hinata tilted his head a bit, before excusing himself to take his bike next to the tree. He took his phones (the expensive one and the old one) and his wallet that were on a little belt bag. 

He stole a glance at the three men. Ennoshita looked like he was scolding the two, Tanaka and Nishinoya laughed, shaking their heads as if ensuring the other male. 

_ Tanaka-san really scared me there, but now.. He seems so nice? Nishinoya-san is just loud but I don't think he means harm, Ennoshita-san just looks like their older brother..  _

Hinata secured his bike as much as he could (he had nowhere to lock it to) before walking back to the others with a smile. 

_ I'll just take these documents and leave. _

* * *

_ Yeah, Hinata's never gonna leave. These men won't let him.  _

Ennoshita thought as he watched in the corner of his eye how the carrot-top talked to Noya and Tanaka with such brightness that he believed that his friends were talking to a mini second sun. 

"You can climb a tree that fast?!" Hinata asked Nishinoya with practically sparkling, glowing stars in his eyes. He was really unknowingly stoking the male's ego. 

"Ha! Yes. I'm pretty quick on my feet you know." Nishinoya jumped as if to demonstrate what he just said. 

"I'm light on my feet!" Tanaka took the orange-head's attention away from Nishinoya, "See?" Tanaka, just like Noya, demonstrated how light his steps were by using the walking technique Ukai-san taught them. 

The orange-head gasped, "That's why I couldn't hear any footsteps earlier! I was really shocked that someone got to me. That's.." 

Hinata looked at the two simpletons, "That's so cool! Teach me please!" 

Tanaka and Noya froze. Ennoshita didn't know if he'd groan or laugh. 

Kageyama was taking all the attention for a while now, and the two had withered and longed for someone to squeal at them and say,  _ "Gwaah! How cute!" _ , the words said by Tanaka himself as he played with one of Kiyoko's older wigs. At that time, Ennoshita just rolled his eyes to oblivion at Tanaka's antics but now, he kind of felt glad that someone like Hinata Shouyou gave the two the attention they wanted. 

But at the same time, Chikara wasn't sure if getting Hinata (unknowingly) involved with The Syndicate was a good idea. 

And with what Hinata just said, especially with the starstruck look on his face, and the blinding honesty and earnestness he gave the two, Tanaka and Noya would probably try to get all Hinata's attention just to coax more compliments. 

"I used to climb trees too! I carried my sister on my back too since she couldn't climb herself." Hinata laughed as he seemed to remember his childhood memories, "You know we used to live in the mountains! Tsukki said it was in the middle of nowhere." 

"Mountains, huh?" Tanaka mused, "The only mountain I knew as a kid was a mountain of rubbish." 

Noya hummed, "It was hard as hell to climb, much harder than a tree." 

Ennoshita tensed, his mind flashing moments of their gruesome childhood. To prevent the two from spilling too much, he cleared his throat, luckily, they just reached the doorway. 

"Come in, Hinata, I'll lead you to Daichi-san's office." Ennoshita motioned towards the left hallway where the offices are, the little orange-head nodded, his hand holding the brown envelope with a careful grip. 

"See you, Tanaka-san! Nishinoya-san!" Hinata waved, the tree clicked in with each other with just how hyperactive they were. The two Crows waved, wide grins on their faces. When Hinata went ahead of Ennoshita, the black-haired male glared at the two. 

Tanaka and Noya immediately tensed at the gaze of their colleague that reminded them of their Head. 

Ennoshita followed Shouyou after that, a soft smile on his face that contrasted his frown earlier. 

"Hinata." called the male. 

"Yes, Ennoshita-san?" The little one turned to him with a blinding smile. Chikara was sure that once Sugawara saw the kid, the silver-haired will immediately fall in love. 

"Ah here we are," Ennoshita stopped in front of a dark brown oak door and knocked, "Hinata Shouyou's here." 

"Come in!" Came the muffled voice of Sugawara. 

_ Here goes.  _ Ennoshita turned the knob. 

Chikara's gaze immediately zeroed on the new colors in the usually monochromatic office. 

"Volleyball!" 

_ Yup.  _

It seemed like the file about Hinata being a volleyball player (and enthusiast) was true. 

A chuckle took the orange-head's attention. "You play volleyball?" 

Hinata answered without missing a beat, "Yeah! It's really awesome, like  _ gwahh! Swoosh! _ " 

_ Gwahh? Swoosh?  _

Ennoshita couldn't stop the short laugh that escaped him. 

_ Adorable.. Puppy.  _

As if realizing that he spoke mindlessly, Hinata tensed and immediately blushed of embarrassment, a squeak escaped him, "Ah! I'm sorry! I just got too excited to see a volleyball." 

_ Well, that's the point.  _ Ennoshita remarked in his mind. 

He still remembered the emergency meeting Daichi called right after their mission with Ishikawa.

* * *

_ "Holy crap." Said the Crow Head as Ennoshita drove the car.  _

_ Sugawara was seated beside Daichi, and immediately looked at the phone's screen where a message flashed.  _

_ Ennoshita glanced at the rear view mirror, and saw the excited, kind of anxious look on the Head's face.  _

_ "We're gonna send Chibi-chan to you Crows tomorrow. Be ready." Sugawara read the message out loud as Daichi's grin widened.  _

_ "Hinata's coming." Murmured the Crow Head.  _

_ "The little one with orange hair. The one the Heads' are all obsessed with." Sugawara stated, a small smile playing on his lips.  _

_ Ennoshita had heard about this Hinata Shouyou for days now. The first day was when the Head went home from the monthly meeting Bokuto was assigned to hold. Imagine Chikara's surprise when he heard the highly classified meeting was held at  _ McDonald's  _ of all places. However, the McDonald's issue was a minor topic, since it seemed like someone got all the Heads' fancy.  _

_ What was weirder is that they were so careful regarding this Hinata Shouyou, even the ever impatient Oikawa and the nonchalant Kita, hell, Kuroo and Bokuto haven't kidnapped the kid yet!  _

_ "We need to do this right." Said Daichi.  _

_ "Yeah, we have to." Sugawara agreed, but Ennoshita was lost.  _

_ "We need to do exactly  _ what _ right?" Ennoshita asked as he drove and maneuvered through the lit streets towards their home. "Sirs..?" Added Chikara, he wasn't sure if it was the time to be formal or not.  _

_ Daichi chuckled, "It's fine Ennoshita, it's only us, and the mission's over, drop the formality." Chikara nodded at that, his gaze met the Head's through the rear view mirror, "We need Hinata to be comfortable with us."  _

_ Ennoshita blinked, and was silent for a few moments.  _

_ "Why?" Chikara asked when he gathered the courage to ask.  _

_ "Because he's already friends with Bokuto and Akaashi already!" Daichi looked quite peeved, "And he's working at Nekoma so they're probably got all closer to Hinata already."  _

_ Sugawara hummed, "With all the reactions Hinata Shouyou spurred on with the Heads, I am willing to  _ kill _ to meet him already."  _

_ Chikara subtly gulped at that, Sugawara Koushi may have the looks of an angel, but he was way worse than the 'Demon' of Nekoma; he was as terrifying as Daichi himself.  _

_ " We need a plan to lure Hinata to us. " Daichi spoke with finality, "Call a meeting with the upper echelon when we arrive, Ennoshita."  _

_ "Of course, Daichi-san."  _

_ - _

_ Nishinoya was still buzzing with excitement as he chatted with a smiling Asahi. Yamaguchi looked exhausted, and honestly, Chikara couldn't blame him. While Tanaka played around with his phone (when Ennoshita squinted, he saw that the male's looking at Kiyoko's pictures)  _

_ Ennoshita was seated in his usual seat already. When Kiyoko, Sugawara, and Daichi entered the room, he tried to stand, but was stopped by a quick motion of Daichi's hand.  _

_ "Please, remain seated, all of you--wait, where's Kageyama?" Daichi's eyes scanned the room as Sugawara and Kiyoko took their seats. Chikara glanced at Tanaka, who already pocketed his phone. His fellow Crows really had outstanding respect for everyone. It made Chikara smile.  _

_ "Um, Kageyama went straight to his room." Spoke Yamaguchi with his hand slightly raised, "He was extra grumpy, Daichi-san."  _

_ Sugawara took the Head's attention, "Let him be, Daichi. I think it's better if he doesn't know anyway." _

_ A sigh escaped Daichi, "Fine, there's a possibility that Kageyama will lock himself in his room if he finds out that someone's coming anyway."  _

_ "Someone's coming?" Chirped Noya (who was sitting on Asahi's lap. Poor Asahi had a bright blush on his face).  _

_ Daichi nodded with a smile, "Hinata Shouyou."  _

_ "Never heard of him." Tanaka spoke up.  _

_ "Well, he's this little kid with orange hair--"  _

_ "Orange hair?!" Noya asked excitedly, "No, that can't be, it's probably dyed! Or it's not orange, just blond?" The short male turned his face towards Asahi, "Can you imagine someone with orange hair? Natural at that."  _

_ Asahi took some moments to answer, probably trying to conjure up an image of someone with bright orange hair.  _

_ "No.. A clown, maybe?" Asahi countered back gently, making his boyfriend laugh loudly.  _

_ Chikara glanced at their leaders, in fear that maybe they were brewing Daichi and Suga's anger with Noya and Tanaka's interruption, but he was surprised when he saw the smile painted on their faces.  _

_ "Alright, first of all, Hinata's not a clown, he looks like an innocent puppy-kitten-angel-everything cute all mashed together in one person." Eyes widened as Daichi spoke with a fond tone, "He's nice and warm and the complete opposite of Kageyama."  _

_ "Yamaguchi should know," Sugawara suddenly spoke, a sly smirk on his face, but didn't elaborate further.  _

_ Chikara watched with suspicion as their second youngest member of the higher ups blushed, perfectly resembling a strawberry with his green hair and the freckles on his face.  _

_ "Hinata.. Really has orange hair." Yamaguchi spoke softly.  _

_ "I'm betting a hundred yen that it's dyed." Noya spoke, "Speaking of dying hair, I wanna have lightning on my hair."  _

_ "So it's settled that Noya will owe Yamaguchi a hundred yen if Hinata Shouyou will prove to have natural orange hair," Tanaka spoke with a laugh.  _

_ There was a single clap to gather all their attention.  _

_ "Now, are you all finished?" Asked Daichi, heads nodded all over the room.  _

_ "Good," Daichi finally took his own seat on a single couch reserved only for Karasuno heads, "I'm serious about Hinata Shouyou, I think he can make even Kageyama warm up and stop acting like a constipated robot."  _

_ Chikara can't imagine someone like that, but he held his tongue.  _

_ "He used to play volleyball back in his little town called Miyagi." Tanaka smiled at Daichi's words, "That's how we'll win him over."  _

_ "We're gonna play the best volleyball with him tomorrow. Play like we're fifteen year olds again." It was an order, not a request.  _

_ "Kageyama doesn't know how to play though," Noya said. Chikara nodded, Kageyama didn't grow up with them.  _

_ "Then it's the perfect time to teach him!" Laughed Sugawara, "I'm sure he'd be able to do it, Tobio's a genius."  _

_ "It's settled then, when Hinata goes to my office tomorrow, we'll have this volleyball prepared," Kiyoko handed Daichi a ball, "And when he notices it, we'll ask him to play."  _

* * *

"I miss having a volleyball, I had to leave mine back in Miyagi." Hinata looked fondly at the ball, fingertips tracing the finer details of the multicoloured ball. 

"You can play with us." Said Sugawara, "We have a makeshift court not too far from here." 

Ennoshita watched Sugawara Koushi's usually sharp gaze grow softer, resembling a fond look of a parent as Hinata exclaimed, 

"Really?!" The carrot-top's face lit up like Christmas lights, eyes lit up with stars and hope, he had this childish innocence that contrasted their world, maybe that was what drew all these dangerous people to this one little human tangerine? 

Maybe.  _ Maybe.  _ It was sure as hell what drew Ennoshita in. 

"Of course," Chuckled Sugawara, "Let's just wait for Daichi." 

Chikara stood waiting for the Crow Head (who fetched Kageyama from his room) as Sugawara and Hinata spoke to each other. They were told that despite Hinata's childish looks, the orange-head was smart, and got crazy observant skills, that was why Kuroo and Daichi warned them to not think of any ill intent while Hinata was around, never act suspiciously, never  _ ever  _ mention their real jobs. 

Despite how deadly and menacing Karasuno could be, they knew how to blend in with people, they know much more than ill-intent and cruelty, despite the fact that most people would run as fast as they could if they'll ever find out of what they've done and will continue on doing, they were still  _ humans.  _ They laugh, cry, struggle. 

_ We've struggled and cried far too many times that we could count.  _ Ennoshita added in his mind. 

Soon enough, the doorknob turned, the door opened and Daichi, along with Kageyama who was scowling behind him, entered the office. 

Hinata stood, the brown envelope still in his hand since Sugawara too, had said that the orange-head should deliver straight to Daichi. 

"Hi.. Daichi-san? Kuroo-san asked me to give you this," Hinata handed off the envelope with care, Daichi accepted it and walked to his table. 

"Thank you, Hinata, have you been well since we last saw each other?" The Crow Head asked, as if he wasn't getting daily updates from Nekoma (and Akaashi since Kuroo told them that the Owl had been texting with Hinata daily). 

Hinata nodded with a smile, "Yes! Bokuto-san, Akaashi-san and I went to the arcades, and I played UNO with--" 

"Am I dreaming, or is that a talking tangerine?" Kageyama's voice cut Hinata off. 

Chikara saw the subtle twitch of Daichi's eyebrow, and knew that Kageyama hit a nerve. 

"Excuse me?!" Hinata turned to Kageyama who stood by the door, 

"I'm not dreaming, it is a talking tangerine." Kageyama continued, if he saw Daichi's telltale of being mad, then he chose to ignore it. 

"I'm not a tangerine!" Shouyou pointed a finger at Kageyama. "You look like the roundest blueberry I've ever seen!" 

A silence passed inside the room. Sugawara and Daichi were blinking repeatedly, as if trying to take in what they just heard, while Ennoshita mentally applauded Hinata's bravery. 

_ Well, there goes Daichi-san's plan for Hinata to warm Kageyama's heart up.  _

Their sniper tilted his head, eyes sharp with a glare, "Huh?" 

Kageyama stomped his way to Hinata, " _What_ did you call me?" 

It seemed like Hinata had the bravery of a god since he didn't back down a bit and instead glared right back at Kageyama. 

"Blueberry." Hinata curled his lips into a sickly sweet, mocking smile, "You look like a blueberry." 

* * *

"What the hell?" Laughed Tanaka as he saw a pouting Hinata Shouyou and a scowling Kageyama Tobio, it looked like they just got out of Daichi's office. 

Daichi, Sugawara and Ennoshita were walking a few steps behind them. The silver-haired crow and Ennoshita looked like they were having the hardest mission of their lives by holding their laughter down, Daichi looked pissed. 

"It's your fault,  _ Bakayama _ ." Tanaka froze at the words Hinata uttered. 

It seemed like all of them froze at Hinata's words, especially the one insulted. 

" _ What _ did you call me?" Tanaka didn't like the calm tone of Tobio's voice at all. 

"Ba-ka-ya-ma." Hinata emphasized each syllable with a mocking smile. 

Ryuu began praying for Hinata's bright, bright soul, it seemed like good people really die first. 

Tanaka was about to bring his hands together and pray when Daichi held Hinata and Kageyama's shoulders with what looked like a tight grip. 

"Play  _ nice _ , you two." 

_ Huh _ , it seemed like Daichi's scary voice also worked with non-Karasuno members. 

The two pouted, but said nothing else. 

"Now, Tanaka, go get Yamaguchi, Noya-" Daichi searched the living room for Nishinoya, "Where's Noya?" 

"With Asahi." answered Tanaka. 

The Crow Head turned to Ennoshita, "Please go get Noya and Asahi." Chikara nodded and went to the direction where the rooms are. 

Tanaka followed Ennoshita, since he guessed Yamaguchi too, was in his room. 

"Pst," 

"Hm?" 

"What did those two do?" Asked Tanaka. 

"Oh," Ennoshita held back a laugh, "They screamed 'tangerine' and 'blueberry' at each other until Daichi-san snapped." 

"So that's the noise I heard earlier." 

"Mm," Hummed Ennoshita as amusement danced in his eyes, "Who would've thought that someone would have the courage to call Kageyama a blueberry." 

"I can see the resemblance though?" Snickered Tanaka. 

"Now Daichi-san decided that the two will be on the same team when we play volleyball." Chucked Ennoshita, 

"Let's just hope Kageyama doesn't spike the ball to Hinata's head," 

"Or Hinata spiking the ball to Kageyama's head."

The two parted ways as they went to fetch the other crows. Tanaka lightly knocked on Yamaguchi's door, after a few moments, the door opened and revealed Yamaguchi Tadashi. 

A very exhausted-looking Yamaguchi. 

"Woah, are you alright, Yamaguchi?" 

"I'm fine, Tanaka-san." Yamaguchi stepped out of his room and locked it, "Is Hinata here already?" 

"Yeah, but we're playing volleyball, are you sure you'll be okay?" Tanaka lightly tapped his kouhai's back, "You look like you haven't slept," 

"Ah, I slept, only for a few hours though, since I went somewhere before the mission and I couldn't sleep before," Yamaguchi laughed sheepishly, "I'll be fine, I functioned well with lesser sleep before." 

Tanaka looked worriedly at Yamaguchi, "Alright," 

"I want to get to know Hinata too." Yamaguchi spoke softly, "I wanna be friends with him," 

* * *

Kageyama glared at the human tangerine beside him. 

An idiotic-looking human tangerine with melted chocolate for eyes. 

"This is so cool!" The idiot marveled at the worn-out net hung with strings. Tobio only knew it was a volleyball net since he saw pictures on Daichi's table of their childhood days, when they weren't as merciless and ruthless as they were now. 

"We grew up in this area," Daichi motioned to the grass field, it was surrounded by heaps of junk, like old couches thrown haphazardly since the one who threw it was probably lazy and problematic as hell, black trash bags that contained who knows what, and a few large pieces of electronics.

_ Daichi-san and the others grew up in a garbage heap?  _ Asked Tobio, only in his mind. He wasn't used to the surroundings. 

He didn't particularly found anything  _ cool,  _ as the human tangerine put it, and that made the human tangerine seem only more idiotic. 

"I don't know how to play volleyball." Tobio stated gruffly, the idiot snickered beside him. 

"But Kageyama, you're great at everything! You'll learn quickly," Nishinoya whined, making Kageyama's scowl deepen. 

"Scared that I'll beat you?" The ridiculous tangerine gave him a side-glance that made Tobio snap. 

"Now, you can't exactly beat each other since you're on the same--" 

"Huh? You'll never beat me in anything." Kageyama went for a swipe towards the idiot's direction, and was surprised to witness quick reflexes. 

"See? You can't even catch me, Bakayama." 

"Holy shit-" 

"You fucking dumbass!"

* * *

Daichi restrained himself from going on full rage mode. 

_ You don't want to scare Hinata. You don't want to scare Hinata. You don't want to-- _

"You fucking dumbass!" 

"Hah! Bakayama!" 

His gaze met Suga's. 

"This is gonna be harder than I thought." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To all the people who bet five bucks that it's Kags, pay up.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I'm soooo sorry I don't have the time to respond to your comments, but I read them all the time I'm down! Especially to that one reader who left an essay-like comment, you made my terrible day turn great! Thank you so so much.
> 
> Oh, I'm just saying in advance that I'm not sure if I'll be able to update next week on time, since I just saw my schedule and it's heavier than the last. Idk how I'll survive.
> 
> See you soon! <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the long wait, life's been hectic.
> 
> We passed 1.6k kudos! I'm so thankful for everyone, and though I never get to reply to all of your comments, know that I read them whenever I feel down and they always cheer me up!
> 
> This chapter's unedited since the beta is also busy for now. Please do me a favour and tell me if there are errors?
> 
> Enjoy!

"Should we.." Tanaka glanced at the Crow Head with a worried expression, and gulped at the look Daichi had, "Should we at least put some distance between them?" 

A moment of silence passed, well, it seemed a little quieter, since Noya was with Asahi on the other side of the court, Sugawara was checking on their equipments with Kiyoko, so Daichi and Tanaka were alone, side by side in the left side of the court. 

The stillness was broken by two voices, 

_"Is your brain made of tangerine?!"_

_"What did you say, you jerk?!"_

Tanaka was growing more and more worried by the passing seconds. A yelp escaped him when Daichi suddenly spoke. 

"No." Daichi's tone was firm, leaving no room for argument, "They're bonding." 

Their gazes landed on a certain shorty with flaming orange hair, who was dodging and jumping around (he could jump _really_ high), and their member‒their stoic, _robotic_ member‒who was trying to grab the orange-head (To do what? No one knows) and screaming around ' _Tangerine'_ in the loudest voice they've ever heard from him in the years they've been together. 

Did Tanaka think the two were bonding? 

_No._

Will Tanaka stop them and try to save Hinata from getting murdered by Kageyama's bare hands? 

In different circumstances, it would be a definite _yes,_ but as things stand, the answer was regretfully _no._

Their Head seemed fixated on having Kageyama form friendship with Hinata, and Ryuunosuke, no matter how fond he got over Hinata Shouyou, was still terrified of Sawamura Daichi. 

_Besides,_ Tanaka stole a side-eye glance at Daichi, _Daichi-san's rarely ever wrong about anything, if he thinks that Hinata can make Kageyama warm up, then the carrot-head probably can do it._

_"Come back here!"_

_"Blueberry boy!"_ Hinata's laugh filled the court. 

A sigh escaped Ryuu, _They'll be friends.. Somehow.._

"Alright, everything's ready!" Sugawara's cheerful voice gathered everyone's attention. A smile bloomed on Tanaka's face as he looked over where they were again. 

It was their old volleyball court, the place where they used to sleep, eat, play, _everything_. The place of their childhood. 

Except for Yamaguchi (who grew up with his parents in the country) and Kageyama (who was fortunate enough to have been born with a silver spoon like Oikawa Tooru and Ushijima Wakatoshi), all of the upper echelon of the Crows grew up as a family together in the streets of the city‒ _street rats‒_ was the _kind_ phrase given to them by the bastards with money stuck up in their asses. They were just very fortunate to have caught the eye of Ukai and he took them in and trained them. 

Volleyball was their game, the one thing that they loved doing since they were fifteen and had no idea how to even hold a gun. The court is where they go to whenever work gets too much, where they could forget the blood staining their hands and instead focus on keeping the ball off the ground. 

Tanaka and Noya managed to convince Yamaguchi to join them a couple of times before, it was Kageyama's first time stepping in the court though. 

Tanaka thanked the heavens that Hinata and Kageyama had the right mind to stop their screaming at each other when Suga called (because hell, Tanaka didn't want to see an enraged Sugawara). Hinata was practically vibrating with excitement as he hopped around, eyes wide with glee. 

"Volley!" Laughed Hinata as he picked up a ball and spun it, "This is so cool! How'd you guys managed to find this place in this big city? I can't even find Nekoma." 

"Well, Shouyou." Noya hopped to where Hinata was, "We grew up in the city's streets. We found this spot when we were kids." 

A gasp escaped the orange-head, "You've been playing volleyball since you were kids?!" 

Noya laughed proudly, making the other Crows' lips quirk up too, "Yeah. We used to live and breathe volleyball!" 

"Used to?" Hinata tilted his head a bit. 

"Yeah." Daichi spoke up, "Work's hectic, so we can't really go out and play as much as we used to." Sugawara nodded beside the Head. 

"Hm." Hinata blinked and turned to Kageyama who turned silent beside him, "Then you know how to play volley?" 

A grumble escaped Kageyama as his usual frown got deeper, "No. I didn't grow up with Daichi-san. I don't know how to play." 

Hinata blinked up at Kageyama silently for a few moments, and all the Crows waited with bated breath for Hinata's words. 

"I'm gonna beat you at this then!" Hinata's lips curled into a triumphant grin, "I'm gonna wipe the floor with your face, get ready, Bakayama-kun!" 

Tanaka's smile grew tight as he glanced at the Crow Head and their second-in-command with worry. 

Daichi's brows were drawn into each other in a dangerous way already, and Sugawara's gaze was sharp, smile looking forced. 

"Ha." 

Asahi almost tripped on Nishinoya's foot, Ennoshita dropped the ball he was holding. Tanaka almost fell on his ass as Daichi and Sugawara's jaws slacked. 

All of their gazes were on the small, very _small_ , curl of Kageyama Tobio's lips, (Tanaka didn't even know if it could be considered as a smile but _hell,_ they'd take it anyway), eyes blazing with a cold flame as he met Hinata's challenging stare. 

"Don't come crying if you find out I'm better than you." Were the words Kageyama retorted back as‒holy hell _Kageyama_ just _smiled_ , though it was a taunting one‒at Hinata, "You tangerine-brained dumbass." 

Hinata met Tobio's gaze, unwavering as he declared, "I'm _so_ going to beat you." 

As Hinata and Kageyama spoke challenges with their eyes, the Crows took their time to recover from their surprise (prompted by Kiyoko's eyebrow-raise at Daichi). The Head took in all the people who were in the court. 

Since Kiyoko decided to not play and just help with keeping up the scores and helping out in time-outs, they had Daichi, Sugawara, Asahi, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and Hinata. 

A four vs. four match. 

It seemed like Daichi really had things planned because he called for everyone to gather around with a clap of his hand. All of them followed, Kageyama and Hinata standing next to each other as if they didn't want to rip each other's hair off moments ago. 

"I'm pretty sure you all know it already, but we'll have a four by four match to start." Daichi looked over the eager faces of his family (yes, Hinata included) and smiled brightly, "Kageyama, Nishinoya, Tanaka and.. You, Hinata, are in the same team." The Head pointed to the respective people, Hinata and Kageyama letting out a strained sound as they heard their names. 

"I can't beat this jerk if we're on the same team!" Hinata pointed an accusing finger at Kageyama. The raven-haired male scowled at the shorter male. 

"I don't think this carrot can help me win." Tobio, although complaining, still had a polite tone with him as he addressed his faction Head. 

Daichi's bright smile didn't waver one bit, "Ah, well, good luck then." Chirped Daichi, Sugawara laughed from beside him. 

"Kageyama, Hinata played in his high school, you know." Explained the silver-haired male. 

"But he looks so.." Tobio gave a side glance at Hinata who pouted at him, "Stupid with his orange-hair that I can't trust him." 

"You're so mean, what the hell?!" A finger jabbed Kageyama's side. The sniper glared at the orange-head and Tanaka mentally applauded Shouyou for not backing down despite the look as sharp as Yamaguchi's knives was directed at him. 

"Too bad then, you're gonna lose." Daichi laughs, eyes having a teasing glint in them. 

If there was one thing the Crows know best about Kageyama, it was that their robotic sniper _hates_ losing. 

He once challenged _Oikawa Tooru,_ the Grand King of Aoba Johsai who was hailed as the best sniper in the whole Syndicate, for the title. They still have this competition to this day. 

So Daichi's words made Kageyama's frown set in deeper on his face, his forehead creasing as he glanced back at Hinata who had his fists raised and said, "What? Wanna fight?" 

Kageyama grumbled, "Better stretch, dumbass, we're going to win." 

"Naturally." Hinata follows back quickly, hopping to the side of the court as he begins to stretch, just as Kageyama said. 

Tanaka and Noya shared a look with their Head and second-in-command, and they were given the silent order to help the two get closer to each other. 

_I really don't know how to do that.._ Tanaka mused in his mind, gaze landing on the pair who seemed like they were competing on who could stretch better. 

"We've got quite the challenge, huh, Ryuu?" Noya laughs as he walks to the two. Tanaka followed, painting a smile on his face. 

"Now you two, stretch properly." Tanaka spoke up as he himself began stretching. 

He observed the two silently as he prepared for the match. Hinata still shone and was as cheerful as the morning sun, a little smile on his face that was as bright as his hair. Whilst Kageyama had his normal scowl on his face, mood dark and brooding, like his hair. Tanaka worried the most over Kageyama since the sniper didn't know much about volleyball. 

"Kageyama." Called Tanaka, the black-haired male looked at him, "I'll explain the rules and basic stuff, okay?" 

Kageyama nodded, "That'll be helpful, thank you." 

After explaining the basics with a little commentary from Noya, Kageyama looked ready for the match. His eyes held this look in it, the same one Tanaka and Noya see whenever Tobio gets assignment for assassination and sniping. 

"Hope that wasn't too much for your brain to handle, Bakayama-kun." Hinata snickered as he secured his laces, not looking directly at Kageyama so he couldn't stop and run away from the sudden tight grip on his hair. 

"Ow! Kageyama! Stop!" Shouyou's hands darted out to pry the hand away from his hair. Noya was about to interfere when Daichi spoke up. 

"Alright, line up!" 

* * *

Kageyama took his hand away from the stupid carrot's head and quickly spun on his heels, walking over to their side of the court in haste and leaving the orange-head behind. 

He really looked stupidly weird. 

He couldn't believe his eyes the moment Kageyama saw a ridiculous mop of orange in Daichi-san's monochrome office, standing out despite the short frame of the person. 

It instantly reminded him of the tangerines Miwa loved. The citrus fruit that he loved when he was young. He couldn't help the picking on it because who the hell would choose to dye their hair bright orange? 

It surprised him even more when the person retorted back at him and called him _blueberry._

What the hell. It was the first time since Miwa that someone had the gall to insult and tease him (of course Tanaka and Noya teased him quite a bit too, but it felt different somehow, like they were trying a bit too hard) 

Tobio didn't like the way he found it a bit refreshing. 

And so, to get back at the tangerine-head for eliciting such feelings from him (and maybe get more insults? That didn't sound right at all), he continued annoying the hell out of him. 

He couldn't stop since the orange-head kept on hurling insults back at him. 

Hinata stepped into the spot next to him, looking bright with his gaze glued onto the bright yellow and blue volleyball on Sugawara's palm. The shorter male was unsteady on his feet, shifting his balance from side to side, hands swaying at random directions, it was only when Tanaka came back from tossing a coin with Daichi-san did the orange-head stopped his little movements. 

"Who's gonna serve first?" Asks Hinata, excitement oozing from his voice. Tanaka laughs, patting the soft orange curls as he spoke, 

"Daichi-san. It's a good thing, I think. That way Kageyama can first see what serving is like." Kageyama's senpai glanced at him, "Observe, Kageyama." 

Tobio nodded, Nishinoya soon joined in and the four talked of more strategies on how they can score more points. 

It was simple enough, Tobio thought as he listened attentively at the rules and tips flung around. Don't touch the net. You can't touch the ball twice. The ball can't touch the ground on your side of the net. Block is when you stop the ball from going in on your court and making it ricochet off back to the opponent's court. Receive is essential. Spiking seemed like the most fun thing about it. 

All was simple. 

Until it wasn't. 

The game started, Tanaka was the team 'setter'. Hinata, in his own _very helpful way,_ explained that the setter's the one that sets the ball. He really was tangerine-brained. 

Nishinoya was the receiver, since he didn't want to settle for any other position other than that. The short male said, _"I love receiving Asahi's powerful blow!"_ while moving his eyebrows up and down and sharing a high-five with Tanaka. Kageyama didn't get the joke, if there was one. 

The tangerine and him were assigned to spike the ball. Kageyama didn't mind, it seemed like the most fun position and Hinata had this ridiculous ability to jump as if he was flying. 

But holy hell, Kageyama was caught off guard by Asahi's serves that seemed like cannonballs aimed at him. 

A grunt escaped Kageyama as he 'received' the ball with the left side of his chest‒hovering too closely with the large, ugly bruise that formed on his side after getting a harsh kick with heavy-heeled combat boots. 

"Kageyama! I'm sorry!" Asahi's worried voice instantly rang through the court as the sniper grimaced. 

His teammates looked at him worriedly. "You okay, Kageyama?" asked Tanaka with a worried tone. Kageyama glanced at his superior and nodded, his gaze traveling until it met chocolate-honey ones. 

Hinata tilted his head in a questioning way, as if asking, _"Is that all it takes to beat you?"_

A grunt escaped Tobio as he stood up, nodding at Tanaka, "I'm fine." 

"Maybe you should get the setter position." Suggested Noya, "They don't get to receive much." 

"I can-" Tobio was about to protest when Sugawara approached them, ducking under the net. 

"I think it's better for you to play setter, Kageyama." Sugawara smiled at him and pulled him away from Hinata, "It's like sniping, in a way, you just need to get the ball to where your spiker is." Whispered the second-in-command, tapping his back gently with an encouraging smile. 

Tobio blinked a bit, mulling it over when Hinata's voice took his attention, "What? Scared you can't do it?" 

The sniper glared at Hinata. The short male only smiled at him. 

"I'll do it." Declared Tobio as he looked at Tanaka, "I just need to throw the ball where the hitter is." 

"Alright, let's try it!" 

-

 _"Guh!"_ was the kind-of satisfying sound Hinata made when the ball went straight to his face, destroying his momentum midair and causing him to come crashing down to the ground. 

"You _do_ suck at it!" Hinata pointed an accusing finger at Tobio while rubbing the reddish spot on his face, "Stop setting to my face, it hurts!" 

"You served a ball into my head earlier." Defended Tobio, unaware of the slight blush of embarrassment on his cheeks. 

It was one of the few times when Tobio couldn't get his body to move as he liked. 

Kageyama had been called a genius for most of his life. He excelled with any weapon, almost unbeatable in hand-to-hand combat, great with planning and forming strategies too. He could join any of the factions. 

There were only a few times when he couldn't learn something quickly, despite all the demonstrations and tips given to him. Kageyama _evolved_ dangerously quickly, was what Oikawa Tooru said. 

It was just throwing a ball in a direction for someone to hit, what made it harder than killing actual, moving people from miles away? 

Tanaka took the ball from the ground, "Come on, you two. It's still Kageyama's first time playing." 

"I know," The orange-head grumbled, "I can't give out that helpful advice because we didn't have a particularly great setter back then, we rarely got to go on practice matches too." Hinata stood up, patting away the dust off his shorts. 

"Again." Hinata glanced at the scoreboard, 21-11 in favour of Daichi's team. Tobio saw the boy grimace, and felt guilt bloom inside him, "Let's try again, we can win this." 

Kageyama knew he was probably holding the team off. He was making them all lose because of his lack of skill. He didn't like the feeling that came along with the realization. 

"I.. Don't wanna play anymore," Whispered Tobio with a frown, "I'm holding the team back." 

"I didn't think you'd be the type to give up." Hinata said as he borrowed the ball from Tanaka, walking to where Kageyama was. 

Neither the sniper nor the orange-head noticed the way the court turned silent, watching them two curiously. 

"But I'm holding everyone back." Tobio retorted. 

Hinata snorted a laugh, "I held my team back too, and it was much worse since we were actually competing against other schools. I didn't quit though." The orange-head handed Tobio the ball, "If you quit, we'll lose a teammate and that's much worse than sets to my face." 

Hinata turned on his heel, glancing back at Tobio with a challenging smile, "Giving up means I beat you, by the way." 

Kageyama's eyebrow twitched, gritting his teeth as he gripped the ball, "Fine. I'm gonna set the ball to your face as long you want." 

Hinata only laughed. 

-

Tobio did set the ball to the spikers' face more than ten times, and each time his frown got deeper. 

_I can't get the goddamned tempo right. Why is a bullet easier to maneuver than this ball?_ Thought Tobio, annoyed and glaring at the ball. 

They lost the first set, and he found out that another twenty-five points would mean they lose. 

"Kageyama!" Sugawara called him over, the sniper walked to where his superior was, "You can't get the tempo right?" 

Tobio shook his head, Sugawara hummed, thinking for a few moments, "Can you move your fingers as if you're shooting someone?" 

"What do you mean..?" Inquired Kageyama, imagining the feel of the trigger against his fingers. 

"Calm and quick. Also think as if you're flinging a knife to your enemy, cushion the ball a bit to control its momentum, then flick it with just the right amount of force to reach your target. The place you need to aim for is your spiker's highest reach." Sugawara suggested while elaborating as clearly as he could. 

The sniper nodded, looking at his hand. _Calm and quick. Cushion it.. Envision the spiker's highest reach._

Tobio moved his fingers, imagining the ball. 

"You look like a pervert." Hinata's voice came from behind him, making Kageyama swipe at the male. The orange-head dodged. 

"Shut up." Tobio glared at the shorter male (his death glares didn't scare the other away). 

Kageyama kept on envisioning and trying what Sugawara said, until the scores were 19-12. 

_This is the last time I'm going to set this goddamned ball. If I still don't get it, I'll just ask to be a spiker again, even if it meant receiving those harsh serves._ Kageyama thought to himself as he saw Hinata sprint and readied his footing for a jump. 

And then the flash of orange flew, towered over Kageyama, but despite that, Hinata was looking at him. 

_You're not gonna do it?_ An annoying voice rang in his head. 

Tobio grit his teeth as his palms touched the ball, fingers curling delicately at the curve. _Cushion it,_ Tobio took in the way Hinata seemed to hover in the air, _fling quickly, calmly._

The sniper's fingers flexed, pushing the ball's weight and flinging it to the direction where Hinata's highest reach was. 

Kageyama could weirdly take in everything, as if he was looking through a scope that made what he was doing a lot easier. 

That was why he didn't miss the way Hinata Shouyou's lips curled in an almost relieved way, gaze moving away from him and into the ball coming his way. Tobio watched as Hinata's palm connected to the ball that his fingers just set, slamming all the way to the other side of the court. 

The orange-head landed gracefully, the bright smile still on his face as his eyes‒Tobio could see the glee in them, could _feel_ the happiness they contained, what was Hinata happy for? Didn't he say he wanted to beat Tobio? 

The orange-head hopped to where Tobio was. The sniper froze with shock and didn't notice the way the other Crows watched excitedly. It seemed like Hinata didn't too as he approached Kageyama. 

"I just knew you could do it!" Kageyama made a sound that he didn't recognize at all as the sun itself stared up at him, with eyes that seemed to light up with a thousand stars and honesty. His arms flailed around and mimicked the motion of the ball, "It went like _whoosh!_ Then _wham!"_

"You.." Kageyama whispered but he got cut off. 

"You're kinda awesome, Kageyama-kun!" Tobio choked on air as Hinata grinned at him, looking up at him with this wholehearted look that he rarely ever sees in the world they live in. 

It reminded Tobio of the look his grandfather had when he first learned how to play the piano. The look Miwa gave him when he first got a bullseye on their dart game. 

It made his heart skip. 

"What the.." Tobio whispered mindlessly, still stunned, "You're a.. You're a dumbass.." 

Hinata only laughed and exclaimed, "Again! Toss to me again!" Unaware of the fact that he just bewitched one of the most dangerous Syndicate members of their generation.

* * *

Daichi shared a look with Sugawara. Not fully believing the sight they just saw. Maybe he was hallucinating? 

He knew he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating because Sugawara too, had this triumphant smile on his face. 

"Kageyama smiled. I'm not sure if he was aware he did it, but he just did." Yamaguchi murmured from beside them, equally at awe. 

"It wasn't just a small smile too." Ennoshita chuckled, "I guess all it takes is a heartfelt compliment from the sunshine-embodiment to melt someone's icy cold heart." 

Daichi let out a short laugh, briefly clapping his hands together, "Alright, let's continue." 

-

Hinata and Kageyama got closer to each other in their own peculiar way. 

They jabbed light-hearted insults at each other, challenging one another throughout the day. 

Whether it was who could drink the quickest, or who could shoot watermelon seeds from their mouth the most. The two raced against each other in what seemed like a never-ending way. 

And the Crows didn't try to interrupt one bit, because they looked like they were having the most exciting time of their lives (especially Kageyama). 

They played a few more sets, ate lunch that Shimizu prepared, even introduced Tobio to more games and the concept of picnic. 

The sniper smiled, even chuckled! Albeit it happened during times when he beat Hinata at something. 

Soon enough, they needed to get back home, besides, the Crows went home late because of the mission and they needed a bit more sleep before they work some more the next day. 

"Hinata." Daichi called over the orange-head who was checking his phone, "Do you need someone to guide you back to Nekoma?" 

Hinata shook his head, "No need, Daichi-san! I have this map," Shouyou showed him a digital map, "It can lead me home." 

"Let me escort you out then," Sugawara stood up from his seat, "Okay, Hinata?" 

"Of course Suga-san!" Hinata grinned before turning to the Crows gathered in Karasuno's living room. "Thank you so much! I had lots of fun." 

"Come by anytime, Hinata." Asahi gently called out, Nishinoya on his lap who also chirped up, "Yeah, Shouyou! Let's play some more sometime!" 

"I will! I promise!" Hinata bowed gratefully, "See you soon!" 

* * *

The Crows waved goodbye at the orange-head they mentally proclaimed as their own, swearing to everything they hold dear that they will play with Hinata Shouyou again. 

Daichi plopped on the couch the moment Hinata and Sugawara were out of sight. 

"I'm beat." Sighed Daichi. 

Tanaka laughed, "Me too. I need more sleep, but I don't complain much, I had lots of fun." The Crow turned to their sniper who was surprisingly, sitting with them and didn't storm straight to his room, "You too, right, Kageyama?" 

The black-haired male blinked a bit, before nodding slowly, "Yeah. I had fun."

The sniper twisted a bit in his seat, before wincing and clutching at his side. Yamaguchi stood up and went to where Tobio was. 

"Kageyama, you have a bruise, don't you?" Worry bled in Yamaguchi's tone, "You shouldn't have moved much today, let's go to the infirmary." The male tugged on the sniper, who followed him with a frown. 

"Take care of him, Yamaguchi!" Daichi called out.

* * *

Yamaguchi led Kageyama and made him sit in the cushioned chair of the infirmary. 

"Can you remove your top? So I can see." Kageyama seemed hesitant at first, but did as Yamaguchi said anyway. 

"The heck?" Murmured Yamaguchi as he saw the very visible and ugly blotch that marred Kageyama's skin, "How did you move with this?" 

"I didn't notice it that much," Kageyama grimaced, "Busy with other stuff." 

"You really like Hinata, huh?" Yamaguchi asked as he grabbed an ice bag from the mini fridge in the corner of the room. 

A huff was heard, then Kageyama's whisper of, "No, I don't like him at all." 

Yamaguchi hummed, walking back to where Kageyama sat, "You should've had this iced immediately, Kageyama. Tell me next time you need help, okay?" 

The sniper sat quietly for a few moments, before nodding and slowly standing up, "I'll tell you when I need help," Said the raven-haired male, "I'd like to rest a bit in my room." 

Yamaguchi nodded, waving a bit as Kageyama exited the room. 

_He said he didn't like him at all,_ Yamaguchi laughed a bit as he recalled the sniper's face moments ago, _but he had this cute little smile on his face when I mentioned Hinata._

* * *

Hinata hummed as he skipped the steps back to where he left his bike against the tree. 

Sugawara was smiling beside him, a gentle aura surrounding him that made Shouyou comfortable. 

"My bike's safe!" Hinata hopped to his bike, inspecting it a bit, when he ensured that everything's alright, he turned to Sugawara and bowed. 

"Thanks for the fun day, Suga-san. Shimizu-san said it's a rest day for you all, and I feel honoured that you let me join in." Hinata said sincerely, "Thank you so much!" 

"You're welcome, Hinata." Sugawara patted Shouyou's soft mop of orange hair, "I'm glad you had fun." 

The orange-head already boarded his bike when Suga spoke again, "Hey, Hinata.." 

"Yes?" 

"Didn't you feel uneasy around Kageyama? Kuroo told me that you get uneasy with strangers easily, so Daichi and I were really worried." Sugawara had this look in his eyes that Hinata couldn't decipher, but he didn't find it threatening at all. 

Shouyou thought back to his first encounter with Kageyama, lips curling at the memory, "No, I didn't feel uneasy at all." 

"Ah.." Muttered Sugawara. 

"He didn't seem dangerous to me," Shouyou chuckled, "He reminded me of my brother, really, they both seem really grumpy but they just don't know how to express themselves." 

"I really like Kageyama-kun. He's so fun to tease!" Hinata laughed a bit, stopping as he saw the bewildered look on Sugawara's face. 

"Suga-san?" 

"You're really unique, Hinata. Do visit us sometimes again, okay? Ah, let me get your number too." Hinata nodded and fetched his old phone that he used for texting. 

"Akaashi-san texted!" Shouyou was too engrossed with the text to notice the twitch of the silver-haired crow's eyebrow, "Here's my number! You can give it to the others too, I don't mind!" 

"Great, I'll see you soon, Hinata." Sugawara patted Shouyou's hair once more. 

Hinata beamed, saying and waving "Bye!" before pedalling away from the crow. 

"Stay safe." Sugawara's words were carried away by the wind.

* * *

Suguru paced the marble floorings of Nekoma that led to the chicken-head's office with his head held high. 

He, the Head of Nohebi, just got invited by Oikawa Tooru and Kita Shinsuke themselves to their exclusive virtual meeting. 

_Why virtual though? Can't they find it in their schedules to meet in person? Ah, whatever, I have big news for them._ Thought Suguru as he reached the door to Kuroo's office. He knew because Kai Nobuyuki stood by the wooden door with a slight smile. 

The two cats that were following him and escorting him‒Taketora and Fukunaga, if Daishou remembered correctly‒stood behind him with a respectable distance between them. 

"Suguru-san, I do hope you don't mind if I'll be the one to inspect you," Kai politely said, and Suguru nodded with the same amount of respect given to him. 

"Of course. Go ahead, Kai-san." In all honesty, Suguru hated this process but Kai was much better than the rough Taketora or the eerie Fukunaga behind him. 

He was told to empty his pockets, Kai inspected his phone and the wallet he had (that had Mika-chan's picture in it), his clothes were checked for any hidden camera or mic. Suguru was told to dress lightly to make the inspection easier and he did; he only wore the black shirt that served as a uniform for his motorcycle parts shop and plain jeans. 

After an uncomfortable couple of minutes, the inspection was done and Kai regarded him with a tight smile, "I didn't see anything, I'll trust you didn't bring anything, Suguru-san, after all, there's no merit in betraying the Syndicate, is there?" 

Suguru chuckled, "No, there isn't at all." 

Kai turned the knob of the door, "You may enter, Suguru-san. Please don't pick a fight with Kuroo." 

Daishou snorted a laugh, " _He_ picks a fight with _me."_

The Snake Head entered the spacious and grand office of his _dear_ friend Kuroo Tetsurou. 

_Let's get this started then._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah, I'm not so sure with this chapter, and I'm terribly sorry if it didn't meet your expectations! I'll try my best to update next week, but I'm unsure since everything's shitty lately.
> 
> Come scream abt Haikyuu and Jujutsu Kaisen at me on [ twitter](https://twitter.com/kazuulovesmochi)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! It's not Sunday yet! I had free time so I finished a chapter, though it is shorter than usual (3.4k)
> 
> Thanks for 1.8k kudos!! You guys are awesome.
> 
> Not beta-read, I apologise for misspellings!

Suguru first noticed the black, gray, white and red hues of Kuroo's office, and he found it fitting since Nekoma's colour was red. 

Then he noticed the tight-lipped smile on Kuroo Tetsurou's face, and that the Cat Head never changed his hairstyle, maybe he was cursed to have the atrocious style for life. 

_ Good for him.  _ Suguru snickered in his mind before pulling a smile on his face as he noticed the eerie Kozume Kenma staring at him; wary, but polite. 

"Welcome." Called out Kozume's voice from beside Kuroo, "Don't mind Kuroo, make yourself comfortable. The call will start soon." 

Daishou nodded, body easing a bit. Kuroo finally dropped the fake smile and whined, "Kenma, what do you mean 'don't mind Kuroo'? I haven't done anything yet." 

"But you  _ will  _ do something." Retorted Kenma as Suguru looked around the office. 

Two leather chairs situated near Kuroo's large wooden table that had neat piles of documents on it. The gray-tiled floor had this large, red, circular rug with white swirls and curls on it. A glass coffee table that had a little plant (that Daishou couldn't remember the name) on the center was positioned near the long couch that had little red pillows on it. 

There were a lot of bookcases lined up along with drawers that Daishou assumed had innumerable folders in them. The Snake Head didn't even know how they organized all that. 

Before he could fully scan the office, Kuroo cleared his throat and motioned for him to stand to his right behind him, across Kenma who stood in his left. 

"Couldn't spare a chair?" Suguru asked teasingly, even though he didn't really mind standing. 

"It's tradition to only have the Head sitting down, with the second-in-command standing on the side." Murmured Kenma, "I know that you're also a Head, but please understand that you're a guest." The smaller Cat's gaze met Suguru's, and despite Kozume's short stature, Suguru felt intimidated. 

"Ah, I was only teasing Kuroo. I don't mind standing." Answered Daishou with a scratch of his head. Kuroo tried, and failed, to suppress a snicker. 

They only needed to wait a few seconds until the call was initiated, Kuroo picked up immediately. 

It must've been the air conditioning, or maybe the sheer pressure from the six most powerful men in the city that affected the room's temperature and made it seem to drop. 

Daishou fidgeted a bit, and noticed the mood shift that Kuroo had. Gone was the snickering bastard Kuroo, replaced by someone Daishou only had a few chances of meeting. 

The Cat Head Kuroo Tetsurou, known for his cunning and calculating nature. He manipulates and tortures mercilessly, loyal only to The Syndicate and Nekoma. 

The Snake Head straightened his back a little more as Ushijima Wakatoshi spoke. 

"Someone's joining us?" The Shiratorizawa Head blinked. The second-in-command, Ohira Reon stood behind him. 

"Suguru Daishou. Nohebi's Head." Sawamura Daichi spoke, looking surprised too. Sugawara Koushi was smiling behind him. 

"Snakes?" Chirped Bokuto, who was the only one who looked approachable amongst all of them, and instead of Akinori Konoha behind him, Akaashi Keiji's calculating gaze was on Suguru. 

_ Didn't Oikawa and Kita tell anyone else that I'll be here?  _ Suguru thought as he smiled politely despite the uncomfortable attention on him. 

"Ah, Kita and I summoned him here." Oikawa finally spoke, not looking at the camera and instead focused on his neatly trimmed nails, Iwaizumi Hajime stood behind him.

Kita hummed in agreement, Ojiro Aran looked on with a gentle smile behind him as he spoke, "We found out a few major things that need to be addressed."

"Oh? Kuroo, you knew about these major things?" The Crow Head asked, leaning on his palm. 

Kuroo shook his head. "No, I'm as clueless as you guys are." 

"Let's start this then, proceed with the reports for now." Ushijima said with a booming voice. The other Heads agreed. 

Suguru held his composure and his silence as the meeting started. He wanted to bounce on his feet and move around a bit, but instead, he listened on. Sawamura reported about the elimination of Ishikawa, the others voiced out their glee. Bokuto told them about this new potential supplier, and how they were working on having the prices lower to their advantage. Kita spoke about the businesses the Foxes managed to infiltrate, telling Kuroo about the ups and downs and sharing their plans on how they could manipulate the business sector of the city more efficiently. 

Ushijima, since his faction focused on the medical support of the Syndicate, listened carefully like Daishou did, nodding and voicing out his opinions before he reported the new investments laid upon Shiratorizawa, how it would help the Syndicate as a whole. 

"Shirabu gathered a bit of bad news from our patients a while back." Ushijima gathered everyone's attention with that. The Head looked like he was pained to even voice out what he found out. 

With a tilt of Oikawa's head, he spoke, "There are a number of people who don't approve of my leadership, they threaten to withdraw their support." 

"What a bunch of idiots." Oikawa butted in the moment Ushijima stopped talking, "But that is one reason why I asked Suguru-chan to join us today." 

Daishou's eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but he knew his place so he just kept the smile on his face. 

"We found out that the rebel groups are growing larger, at an alarming pace." Kita spoke with a gentle tone that contrasted the weight of his words. 

The Snake Head suppressed a shiver as the mood changed into a much deadlier one that last time. 

" _ What _ ." The Crow Head spoke with clenched teeth, "So there are more bastards that provide funds for these groups?" Sugawara placed a hand on Sawamura's shoulder, making the black-haired male breathe in and out slowly, calming himself, "There are more bastards as rich as Ishikawa?" 

"Yeah, as rich as Ishikawa, maybe even richer. We don't know yet." The Grand King had this look on his face, like he was trying his best to keep his cool-headed act together despite the seething rage inside of him, "All we know now is that there are more people. There are more who are opposed to us leading." 

"What is Nohebi here for then?" Ushijima bluntly asked. Daishou tensed at the tone. 

Kita sighed, "Ushijima, calm down." The Fox Head threw Suguru an apologetic look, "Suguru is here as an outsider." 

The statement gathered a lot of eyebrow raising. 

"We can exterminate the pests, it'll take a lot of effort and godforsaken amount of money, but we  _ can. _ " Spoke Oikawa, "But I'm not satisfied with that." The Grand King clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes blazing with rage as he looked straight at the camera. 

"I want to know  _ why.  _ We haven't done anything that can cause such a spike in their numbers. We move only when necessary, so what's going on? I want to know the root of the problem, kill the source itself." Were Oikawa's words, his tone reflected the determination he had. 

Bokuto was the first one to speak after moments of being silent, "I agree with Oikawa." The Owl Head looked quite terrifying in Daishou's eyes, maybe because the look was a stark contrast to the one he had when the meeting first started. "Our family has been in the business longer than anyone here, and I get the feeling that some are opposed to me being the Head." 

Akaashi Keiji looked startled as he heard those words, but didn't voice out his thoughts. 

"Suguru-chan can tell us why, or at least give us some ideas." Oikawa addressed him, "Will you tell us?" Asked the Seijoh Head with a sickeningly sweet smile. 

Daishou gulped at the pressure directed at him, now doubled by the weight of the problem, "Of course, m-may I speak freely? Please understand that I mean no offence." 

Kuroo waved a hand, a sign of affirmation. 

Sucking in a breath first, Daishou began speaking, "I think it's not because of the leadership you've all done, the reason why there are members who don't favour all of you is because of  _ yourselves. _ " 

Suguru cursed at himself for such a vague opening statement. 

Ushijima just grunted, "Explain." 

Suguru cleared his throat, "Well.. Let's start with Shiratorizawa." The Snake Head motioned at the faction head, "Your father defected from Shiratorizawa, didn't he?" 

Suguru mentally smacked himself to Mars. 

_ I'm so sorry Mika-chan, I don't think I'll make it home tonight.  _

A pin drop could be heard as silence took over the room, Suguru readied himself for the lash out. 

Ushijima stilled, blinking a few times as Ohira looked over worriedly. The Head looked unsure of what to say, and was silent for a few moments, before speaking,

"They don't trust the Ushijimas." 

Well, would you look at that, Suguru survived the first bomb. 

Daishou nodded slowly, "Yes. The trust in your family was severely damaged when your father, the second-in-command himself, defected from the faction. The decision to spare him from the consequences made it worse." Suguru made sure to lay it carefully so as to not trigger his early death. 

The other Heads already made sense of where the conversation was going, and their moods soured further. 

"Ah. How foolish, but I know now. I didn't think the problem grew even more, after all, it's been three years." Ushijima's expression mellowed after that. 

Daishou took that as a cue to move onto another problem, "The Crows.." 

Daichi nodded, a humourless smile on his and Sugawara's face, they already had a hunch on the reason, "It's because of the fact that most of the upper echelon grew on the streets. Karasuno rose to power without much help from the rich, noble families, therefore, those rich basta--" Suguru faked a cough, "Those rich families cannot manipulate the Crows at will." 

A ragged sigh escaped the Crow Head, "I apologize that our problem affected the Syndicate drastically." 

Oikawa clicked his tongue, "No Daichi, we all became heads almost at the same time anyway. I'm pretty sure Seijoh's circumstances fanned the flames too." 

"Kuroo," Suguru's gaze landed on the people with him. Kozume had this dark, displeased look on his face while Kuroo's eyes glinted with anger, "The others want Kozume to be the Head, not a street rat like you."  _ Like us.  _

"I'm not interested in the position." The bicolour-haired male whispered, "Kuroo's perfect for it anyway." 

"They don't understand that, kitten." Spoke Kuroo with a dark tone. Suguru's brow raised at the nickname, but the Cat Head seemed too occupied to even notice his own words. 

"Almost the same thing goes for the Foxes, they want one of the Miya twins, or even Ojiro-san to be the head, not.." The Snake Head trailed off. 

Kita curled his lips into a chilling smile, "Not a nobody like me." 

Suguru only nodded as he swallowed the saliva that pooled in his mouth. 

Bokuto looked at him expectantly, and Suguru spoke slowly and carefully, "They don't trust your judgement, Bokuto-san."

Akaashi's eyes narrowed at the words Suguru spoke, Bokuto motioned for him to continue.

"They think you're incapable. Mostly because your father caged you and didn't let you interact with others as you grow up, so they think you're not cut out for the job." Suguru grimaced a bit, "They think you're a.. Spoiled man-child.. Especially since you don't even meet the clients yourself.. " 

Akaashi made a strangled noise at the back of his throat. Bokuto took the secretary's hand in his, before speaking, "They don't have a grudge on Fukurodani itself, only on me. Is that it?" 

"..yeah.." Daishou began squirming in discomfort. 

"Ah." Was the response of the Owl Head as he leaned into his chair, a distant look in his eyes. 

His mouth was already open and ready when Oikawa held his hand up, "No. I know why already, Suguru-chan. I already had an idea, and I just wanted to confirm it anyway." 

The Snake Head nodded politely, before speaking, "Can I speak my thoughts out?" 

The others looked at him, and motioned a 'yes'. The Heads were leaning on their cushioned seats now. 

"I think there's only one large group that facilitates all the others." Said Daishou, "It is reasonable to pour all the funds in one group and just make it grow, instead of funding smaller groups that can be easily crushed individually." 

"I agree." Kita spoke up, "We'll soon plan how to weed the group out and exterminate all the pests. For now.." Kita glanced at his fellow Heads and saw the worn-out look on their faces, "We talk about the  _ sun. _ " 

Slowly, the leaders and second-in-commands raised their heads. A smile even formed on Sawamura and Sugawara's faces. 

_ The sun? They're into astronomy now?  _ Thought Suguru as he glances at Kuroo beside him, and saw the same giddy look. 

"We hung out, played a bit." Sawamura spoke with excitement coating his tone, Sugawara chuckled behind him. 

"When will I get my turn? It's my turn next, Kuroo." Oikawa whined, slumping and placing his chin against his table.

The tension in the room seemed to dissipate at the mention of this  _ sun,  _ who's obviously not the literal sun. 

"Oikawa. We have work." Came Iwaizumi's voice from behind the Seijoh Head. 

Oikawa scrunched his nose up at that. 

"Actually.." Kuroo butted in, "Chibi-chan's gonna do work for a bit. Actual work. So no hanging out for a while." 

"Fine." Oikawa relented, "We're next though." 

"Sure." 

"Then Shiratorizawa." Ushijima spoke with his usual deep voice, "Is that alright, Kita?" 

The Fox Head hummed, "Sure, I haven't told the Miyas and the others about the future visit yet anyway." 

Suguru struggled to follow the conversation, what were they talking about? Sharing? Visits? 

_ "A whore?"  _ Daishou didn't notice he spoke out loud until knife-like glares were directed on him. 

"Suguru-chan." Oikawa called out with a chilling smile, "You've done your job well. Time to  _ shut up. _ " 

"I apolo-" 

"Know that Nohebi will suffer." Kozume spoke from beside him, "Your faction will suffer if ever the word about this meeting comes out. Nothing‒I repeat,  _ nothing _ , is allowed to be spoken of outside this office." 

Daishou visibly gulped at the ominous aura from Kozume, and only managed a shaky nod. 

Theytalked a bit more about this _'sun',_ and spoke of plans to win them over. It seemed like they were competing for being the most favourite? Suguru couldn't fully follow. 

"Let's end this meeting then," Kita spoke up, "We'll see you around, Daishou-san, thank you for your cooperation." 

Suguru's tongue felt heavy, and he could only nod once more.

* * *

Daishou walked towards the wooden door of Kuroo's office, praying that his pants hid the wobble on his steps induced by his legs feeling like jelly. 

_ I can't believe I made it out alive. Ah shit, no, I'm not even out yet.  _

Suguru turned the knob, pausing only when Kuroo called out to him again, 

"Daishou." The Snake Head turned and looked at Kuroo, "Remember the warnings. Thanks for coming here early, even though I know you mostly work at night." 

"It's.." Suguru took one last look at the office of Nekoma's Head, "Quite an experience, looking forward to working with you again in the future." Daishou waved awkwardly before turning the knob and exiting. 

A breath of relief escaped him once he was out of the office. The air seemed tastier in comparison to the suffocating air inside, he was so relieved that he didn't notice Nobuyuki looking at him with a slight smile. 

"Tough meeting?" 

Suguru almost yelped and looked at the third-in-command with a spooked expression. 

"You could say that again." 

A short laugh escaped the cat, "Come, I'll lead you out. We also have great coffee, want some before you go?" 

"That'd be great, thank you." The Snake Head stretched his tensed limbs as he walked with Nobuyuki. 

They arrived at the coffee machine, and saw Shibayama drinking too. He regarded him with an acknowledging look. 

Nobuyuki handed him a cup of coffee that had an enticing smell, and he took it gratefully. 

Daishou sipped carefully on the coffee, mind finally recovering from the tension-filled meeting when he heard a familiar voice. 

A familiar voice that should be anywhere  _ but there.  _

"Kai-senpai!" Daishou bit his tongue and almost let go of his cup as the voice drew closer. He whipped his head into the direction of the voice, eyes almost popping out of the sockets as his gaze landed on a familiar hue of orange. 

" _ Tangerine? _ " 

"Suguru-san?" 

"Hinata! Wait, didn't Fukunaga stop you? You shouldn't be here yet!" Suguru ignored the panicked voice of Nobuyuki as he squinted at the shrimp in front of him. 

_ Maybe I'm going crazy?  _

"Good morning, Suguru-san!" 

_ I'm not. What the fuck.  _

"What are you doing here?!" Suguru couldn't help but raise his voice, "You should be anywhere but here!" 

A hand landed on Daishou's shoulder and squeezed with a silent warning. 

_ The sun. Sun.. Hinata?  _

"But I work here?" The orange-head chirped, "Why are you here, Suguru-san?" 

"Business, he came here because of some business, Hinata." Nobuyuki answered for him, "You're really early, Hinata." 

"Well, I spent all day yesterday with Daichi-san and the others! So I wanna make it up today." Suguru choked on air as he heard the words. 

_ Daichi-san?  _

_ "We hung out, played a bit." Sawamura spoke with excitement coating his tone, Sugawara chuckled behind him. _

Suguru stilled, they meant _Hinata_. 

The Syndicate Heads, the city's most dangerous people to this day, knew Hinata. 

Daishou's head short-circuited, Hinata works for  _ Nekoma?  _

"Ah but, Daishou's about to leave, so please excuse us, Hinata. Go to Kuroo's office, they're gonna be thrilled to see you so early." Nobuyuki gave a head-pat to Hinata, his other hand leaving Daishou's shoulder. 

"Ah, alright then! See you soon, Suguru-san! You said you'll help me attach lights on my bike, right?" Hinata smiled at him with his usual blinding smile. 

A chuckle escaped Suguru at the sight, despite the crazy situation, "Yeah." 

"Bye!" The orange-head waved. 

"Bye." Suguru waved back. 

The two watched Hinata greet other Nekoma members, along with Shibayama, as he made his way to the direction towards Kuroo's office. 

Daishou finished his hot coffee immediately, his mind racing again at the new knowledge. 

Hinata Shouyou's involved with the Syndicate. 

"Can I have another cup?" Suguru asked Nobuyuki as soon as he finished the coffee. 

_What is gonna happen now?_ Suguru asked himself. _I need to keep Hinata away from them._

* * *

Tsukishima worked quietly. 

He preferred to work on his own, only giving polite nods and speaking only when necessary. 

He noticed that the customers were fewer than usual, so only a few waiters were working. He just finished serving and cleaning some of the tables, and with nothing left to do yet, he went to the locker room. 

Three other workers were loitering around, he didn't pay them any mind as he fished for his phone, typing a message to his brother and Yamaguchi. 

"Yeah, the explosion was heard even from my house, which was scarily close to the ground zero." Tsukki heard a shaky sigh, and he sneakily stole a glance at the three who were talking. 

Tsukki and Hinata saw the news of the warehouse explosion near the port area. Miraculously, there were no civilian victims. 

Only a very rich businessman and his lackeys. 

"Think it's the Syndicate's fault?" 

"It's definitely the Syndicate's fault. It was clean, everything was burnt into crisp." One waiter shuddered, "Even the bodies. Even they're just assuming that Ishikawa was there, they're not sure, they can't recover much." 

_ Syndicate? A drug syndicate?  _

"Hey Tsukishima!" A fellow waiter called with a friendly smile. 

The blond looked at the one who called him, "Yes?" He inquired politely. 

"You just moved here, right?" 

Kei nodded. 

"Be careful with the Syndicate, okay? Don't get involved with dangerous stuff." 

"Dangerous stuff?" Kei tilted his head a bit. 

"Just be careful, no illegal stuff." The worker warned, "Though you seem really nice, so I doubt it. The Syndicate and its members control this city from the shadows, better not be involved with them." 

"Thanks for the heads up." Kei said politely as he placed his phone back and fixed his uniform, leaving the room with a nod to his coworkers. 

_ The Syndicate, huh.  _

Kei thought back to Shouyou, the boy is the epitome of sunshine, and there was no way he'd get involved with something so dangerous. Yamaguchi too, had a gentle nature, and in the short time they spent together, Kei saw the male's kindness. 

_ Yeah, it's not like we'll get involved with people like that.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Ghostly_Kei](/users/Ghostly_kei/) was the one who came up with the idea for Suguru to meet Hinata in Nekoma! Big kudos to them because they helped me with the plot. Thank you so much! 
> 
> [ twitter](https://twitter.com/kazuulovesmochi)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back~ thanks so much for the readers who checked up on me! I got busy and felt down for some time. I'm alright now though~
> 
> And kudos to Ghostly_Kei for the idea of letting Daishou meet Hinata in Nekoma! Thanks so much!
> 
> We reached 2.1k kudos :000 thank you, you guys blow my mind at times. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this (unedited still) chapter!

Hinata walked to Kuroo's door with a skip in his step. 

He never expected to see Daishou in Nekoma. He gathered from Daishou's reaction that the male didn't expect to see him too. 

_Come to think of it, Kai-senpai seemed on edge when I came by.._

Hinata saved the thought for later as he knocked on Kuroo's door. 

A muffled, _"Who is it?"_ was heard. 

"Hinata!" Cheered Shouyou, turning as he heard footsteps nearing. 

"Oh, Tora-senpai and Fukunaga-senpai too!" Added Hinata as he waved to his seniors. 

Seniors who looked anxious. 

The door swinging open took Shouyou's attention. Kenma, looking finely dressed with his black button-up shirt, had his eyes wide at the sight of no other than Hinata Shouyou, an hour too early for his shift. 

"Shouyou," Kenma spoke after he blinked his surprise away, "You're really early. Come inside, you two too." A flick of the bicoloured-hair male indicated the extended invitation to Fukunaga and Taketora who stood straighter. 

Hinata hummed as he stepped in the familiar office, giving a wave to Kuroo who sat on his chair, laptop open in front of him and a most likely new stack of documents neatly placed on his table. 

His boss waved back, his usual smile on his face. 

"Oh?" Hinata stared at the fingerless glove that Kuroo wore in his right hand, "You didn't wear gloves before, Kuroo-san." 

The orange-head sat on his usual spot on the couch, Kenma following him and taking the space beside him. Fukunaga and Taketora stood straight on both sides of the door, still looking like they had something on their minds. 

A dramatic sigh came from Kuroo, "I met with a business partner, and I really can't have him see the tattoo!" 

"Although I really wanted to see what his reaction will be.." Murmured Kenma from beside Hinata. Kuroo still caught it though. 

"Kenma!" The boss said with a high-pitched voice that didn't suit him at all, "That snake would never let it down! He'll probably call me at night just to-" 

"Romantic." Said Kenma. 

A scandalous look settled on Kuroo's face, "KENMA." 

Hinata laughed, free and airy, Kenma and Kuroo had some dynamic to them that just _clicks_. It really fascinated Shouyou. 

"Must be Suguru-san then?" Said Hinata between his laugh. 

"Yes! That bas--" Kuroo halted on his words, face showing shock, before going stoic in a split second. 

The orange-head blinked at the sudden tension that cloaked the room, it suffocated him somehow. Kenma grew rigid beside him and Kuroo had a terrifying look on his face that Hinata had never seen him have before. 

Kenma took his hand in a flash, squeezing it. Hinata threw a look at the faux blond beside him, and saw Kenma looking straight at Kuroo. 

"How do you know Daishou?" Kuroo's question was said in a casual way that betrayed the look in his eyes that Shouyou could see even from where he sat. 

A look that seemed to hide something deadly and dangerous and Shouyou's instinct definitely wanted him to sprint the hell out of there. If not for Kenma's hold. 

"Kuroo, calm down." Kenma's words sounded like a warning to Shouyou's ears. 

"Answer me, Hinata." Shouyou swallowed the saliva that pooled in his mouth, he felt weak under Kuroo's intense stare. 

"He,.." Shouyou squirmed, "Suguru-san fixed my flat tire before, he's really nice.." 

"Of course," Muttered Kenma, "Kuroo, Daishou usually fixes motorcycles, but I'm pretty sure he can also deal with bikes." The faux blond met Kuroo's glare with his, "You're scaring him, Tetsu." 

* * *

Kuroo blinked, mind calming down from the somersaults it did the moment he heard the snake bastard's name fall from Hinata's lips. 

Breathing out a shaky sigh, Tetsurou rubbed a hand against his face and slumped on his seat. 

_I fucked up._

Kenma was assuring and calming Shouyou down, the kid looked terrified and it didn't sit well for Kuroo. 

Daishou's voice still echoed in Kuroo's mind, _'a whore?'_ , it annoyed him to no end and when Hinata spoke of Suguru's name, his brain short-circuited. 

The stress because of the growing amount of rebellion against The Syndicate had him on edge too. 

That didn't mean he should've reacted that way to Hinata. The orange-head didn't know anything, and heck, they worked so hard not to scare him away. 

"You don't get along well with Suguru-san.." Hinata glanced at him from the couch, the Cat Head fixed the way he sat, straightening his back once more. He didn't miss the way Hinata averted his eyes. 

"That's.. An understatement." Tetsurou hummed, he met Kenma's gaze. _Fuck._ His second-in-command hid his anger well from Hinata. 

"He's been so nice to me. He fixed my flat tire, do you remember, Kuroo-san?" Hinata gave a slight smile, "You met me because of it." 

How could he forget? That was such a momentous night. 

Tetsurou stood, stretching his legs a bit as he did so, "I'm sorry, Chibi-chan." Kuroo scratched the back of his head with his gloved hand, "Did I scare you?" 

Shouyou stared at him for a few silent moments, the other Cats watched with bated breath, "Yeah, you did Kuroo-san. You have a scary face." 

"Geh." Tetsurou scrunched his nose, plopping on the couch next to Shouyou, "No, I don't." 

"Yes, you do!" 

"You have a face that can make children cry, Kuroo." Muttered Kenma as he snuggled close to Shouyou, not minding his clothes bunching up as he did so. "Why are you so early, Shouyou?"

Hinata hummed, the tension of his body melting away as he too, snuggled close to Kenma. Kuroo watched in amusement. 

"I was invited to play volleyball!" Beamed Hinata, "Suga-san was really nice, Daichi-san too, but don't make him mad! I get along well with Noya and Tanaka-san, and Yamaguchi's really nice." The orange-head fidgeted away from Kenma as he swung his arm, mimicking a spike, "It went like _gwahh!_ " 

"But I was out all day yesterday, so I wanted to make it up to you guys." 

Kenma shook his head, "It's fine Shou, Sugawara contacted us, I'm glad you had fun." 

A chuckle escaped Kuroo as the boy continued his tale, "Kageyama played our setter, and that blueberry-head set the ball to my face a lot of times!" 

"I'm surprised you even managed to convince Kageyama to play. He usually stays back when we play with them." The faux blond watched Hinata speak with a smile and a fond look in his eyes. 

"You play, Kenma?" 

"Sometimes. It's Kuroo who dragged me into it." 

"Are we just going to ignore the nickname he gave Kageyama?" Kuroo wore a bewildered expression, "Blueberry?" 

Shouyou pouted (quite cutely, but everything Shouyou did was cute so,) "He called me tangerine!" 

"You're more like a carrot to me." Joked Kuroo, poking Hinata's cheek. 

The slight flinching away of Hinata's body seemed like poisoned arrows to Kuroo's heart. 

Kenma definitely noticed the flinch, and immediately showered Hinata with hugs, while Kuroo didn't try to crowd the orange-head's space anymore. 

_Fuck.. Fuuuck.._

Hinata spent more time telling his tales from his adventure with Karasuno, and the two (Kuroo's pretty sure the other two by the door were listening too) listened with full interest. After all, who wouldn't like it if Hinata Shouyou—the embodiment of sunshine and everything nice—was gleefully beaming up at you? 

When the clock struck nine though, it was time for work. 

Kuroo sat back by his table, fingers skimming through the documents that needed to be delivered. 

"You've got a long day ahead, Chibi-chan." Kuroo held up a brown, paper envelope, "Do you know where Fukurodani's tower is?" 

Judging by the way Hinata perked up, Bokuto must've told him about his grand tower. Though the Owl Head himself didn't spend much time there. 

"Yeah! It's in the town center, right?" 

"Yup. Give this to a man named Konoha Akinori. I already informed him you were coming so they'll be expecting you." The orange-head took the documents from Kuroo with care, and by the look on his face, the Cat Head knew Hinata had no intention of peeking on what was inside. 

"Those are really important documents, Hinata. Take care of it, alright?" Kuroo glanced at his watch, "Can you be back in an hour? I need you to deliver something to Lev too."

Shouyou pulled a salute, "Of course, Kuroo-san!" He made his way to the door, which Fukunaga opened for him. The orange-head turned with a smile, "Bye Kuroo-san, Kenma. You too, Tora and Fukunaga-senpai!" 

"Bye, mikan." Fukunaga joked as he waved, "Stay fresh." 

Hinata laughed as he left. 

It was silent in the office for a few good seconds. Kuroo braced himself. 

"Are you crazy? No, don't answer that. You _are._ " Kenma hissed, standing up from the couch with sharp movements, he stomped to Kuroo's desk, "You could've scared him away!" 

"I'm sorry. I really am." The Cat Head motioned for the other two to leave the room. 

The door clicked shut. Kuroo was left to Kenma's wrath. 

"I know you're sorry." Kenma sighed, "But that won't help at all if you really had scared him away. I don't want to lose Shouyou in Nekoma, and you know damn well that our faction is the only one he can enter." Kuroo sank in his seat, Kenma was right, as always. 

"You're right, and the others won't risk him being in their faction for too long while they worked anyway." Muttered Kuroo. Hinata wasn't fit for the other factions, only Nekoma. Maybe Inarizaki but they didn't need a delivery boy. 

"He flinched earlier." 

"I know," Groaned Kuroo, the sound pathetic but Kenma didn't bat an eyelash at it, "I'm so stupid." 

"Earn his trust back." There was a finality in Kenma's voice. An underlying tone that reminded Kuroo at times that Kenma was supposed to be the one sitting on his seat instead of him. 

"Of course."

* * *

Hinata had bumped into Kai before leaving Nekoma, and the helpful senpai sent Shouyou off with a smile. 

Shouyou did wonder why Kai always did that. He didn't mind though, Nekoma's clients had sharp gazes, sharp enough to make it seem like they were pricking on Hinata's skin. They made Hinata uncomfortable since their eyes seemed to sneer at him and looked at him as if he were a bug. 

_Well.. They are very rich. The elites. Of course I don't belong there._ Shouyou mused as he pedalled on his bike, maneuvering around the slowly-becoming-familiar streets of the city, occasionally glancing at his basket where the documents laid safe. _I'm sure they think it's weird that a delivery boy like me gets to hang around with the bosses.._

_Wait.. Kuroo-san is the boss, right? He seems so young though.. He inherited it?_

Hinata pulled on the brakes as a child crossed the street, she momentarily looked at Shouyou and pointed at his hair. With a chuckle, Hinata waved. 

Glancing around, Shouyou continued his pedalling, making sure he stayed on the bike lane. 

_Karasuno too.. What did Kuroo-san say they do? And who's the boss? Daichi-san? Suga-san? They seemed like they didn't need approval or anything to take a day off…_

Shouyou threw a look at the towering buildings, spotting the tallest tower with a gray exterior. Fukurodani's tower. 

_Bokuto-san said he had a trading company too.. Why are they all so rich? How did I even become friends with them?_

Shouyou grew closer to his destination. 

_Ah. No use thinking about all this now.. I need to get this delivered to Konoha Akinori-san!_

Hinata hastened his pedalling, reaching the tower in minutes. Again, he felt incredibly small as he saw the people entering the tower exit their cars. 

A grimace formed on his face, the sinking feeling never ever felt pleasant. 

He looked around for a place where he could leave his bike while he was inside, frowning when he found none. 

Shouyou was about to turn away and lock his bike somewhere else when--

"Hinata? Hinata!" Shouyou immediately perked up at the voice. 

The frown on Hinata's face was wiped away with a grin. He knew that voice. 

"Bokuto-san!" Shouyou got off his bike the same time Bokuto got off his car, startling people with his _very expensive_ looking three-piece suit (that looked like it cost thrice the amount than the what the others wore, Hinata couldn't be too sure though, he knew nothing about fancy clothing), his usually spiked-up hair was left hanging down today, so he looked much more mature. 

"Hinata!" Bokuto laughed loudly, not minding the stares the others gave. It must've been quite the sight, the most expensive looking person that owned one of the largest buildings in the city was casually approaching someone in plain shorts and t-shirt with a bike that stood in contrast to the Porsche he just got off of. 

Akaashi-san got off the car too, and gave the keys to the valet. He walked after Bokuto in an instant. 

"Shouyou!" The salt-and-pepper haired male engulfed Shouyou in a warm bear hug, "I missed you, Dai-san said you visited the Crows?" 

"Crows? Oh.. You mean Karasuno?" Hinata laughed, his hand supporting his bike, "Yeah! We played volleyball!" 

"Hinata." Akaashi said as he stepped beside Bokuto, wearing a friendly smile on his face. 

"You must teach me how to play, okay, Shou?" Bokuto gathered the orange-head's attention, glancing at Hinata's bike, "Are you here to deliver papers?" 

The orange-head nodded, motioning to his basket, "Yeah, to Mr. Konoha." 

"Oh? You can just give it to us, Hinata." Said Akaashi, "Konoha's the Vice President of our company." 

"Ah! I see," Shouyou opened his basket and took the envelope, smiling as he saw no creases, "Here, Akaashi-san." 

"Thank you." 

Seeing that he had already accomplished his task, Hinata waved his goodbye to the two. 

"See you soon, Akaashi and Bokuto-san!" 

"Eh? Hey hey, you're leaving already?" Pouted Bokuto, holding on to Hinata's bike. 

"Maybe Hinata has some other tasks to do, Bokuto-san." Interrupted Akaashi, turning to Shouyou, "Do you have to go somewhere else?" 

Shouyou shook his head, "Well, Kuroo-san said I should be back in an hour.." 

"How long have you been out?" Akaashi inquired, glancing at some workers who were watching. They scrambled away in an instant. 

Hinata fetched his old phone from his pocket, "Twenty minutes." 

"Then you've got forty minutes to spare!" Bokuto didn't miss the chance to beam, "You can come with us! The view from the top is beautiful, Shouyou." 

"Uhm, alright!" Shouyou motioned to his bike, "Let me just find a spot to lock my bike--" 

"You." Bokuto pointed to a guard near the entrance of the tower. The male walked to the three at quite a remarkable speed. 

"Sir?"

"Take this bike and make sure it's safe. I don't want any scratch on it, understood?" Bokuto's tone made Hinata's eyes go wide. He hadn't heard Bokuto use that tone before, a tone that demanded absolute obedience. 

Shouyou often forgot that he made friends with elites, and when he did remember, it always boggled him. 

"Of course, Sir." The worker bowed in respect, stepping towards Hinata's bike. "May I take your bike away.. Sir?" 

Hinata didn't miss the hesitation the guy had before he called him _Sir._

He chose to ignore it. 

"Oh, here, thank you." Shouyou checked his basket for a second, securing it with the little lock it had. 

He checked on his fanny pack bag across his chest where the phone Kenma gave and his wallet were, placing his old phone there too. 

"Ready?" Akaashi and Bokuto waited for him with smiles that looked so kind that made Hinata feel warm and giddy. He nodded enthusiastically, letting himself be ushered to the grand building. 

A security personnel checked Hinata, and guided him to a metal detector while one checked over his fanny pack bag. Shouyou didn't mind, in fact, he found the experience fascinating. 

He noticed that Bokuto and Akaashi refused to be checked nor go through the metal detector though. Not that they needed to, they basically owned the building anyway. 

After being inspected, Bokuto led him inside, and Shouyou found himself gawking at the interiors of the first floor. The walls were painted light gray colours, with wood-like linings and highlights. The lights that illuminated the place were in a shade of white that wasn't too glaring, and there was one long counter that had three women who catered to the clients. 

There were two sets of elevators on the right side of the building while a glass and metal staircase stood on the left. Chairs and tables were in some places, with people and suits and name tags talking to clients that were composed not only of Japanese, but foreign people as well. 

Shouyou had his eyes wide as he tried to take in all the details at once, not noticing the way Bokuto looked proud and Akaashi seemed amused. 

"So huge.." Whispered Hinata. He stuck out like a sore thumb with his white shirt and black shorts paired with a pair of old sneakers. 

Some people had looked over the three, and a number of workers recognized Bokuto and Akaashi in an instant, rushing over to where they were to greet the boss. 

Shouyou's face heated up, flushing as he felt pairs of calculating eyes that seemed to assess his worth and found him worthless in front of all the lavish things and people with him. He couldn't help but step back and subtly (he hoped he was subtle) hide behind Akaashi-san's back. 

"Bokuto? Akaashi?" A man with slightly curly hair approached them, "Didn't expect you'd visit." 

"Saru!" A laugh escaped Bokuto, stepping away from Hinata and Akaashi to high-five this 'Saru' guy, "Well, it's my company. I want to remind people that." 

Saru shrugged, "Konoha's in his office, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you. Washio too."

Akaashi gave Shouyou a tap in the back, "Come Hinata," 

"Oh, Saru!" Bokuto began walking, leading the group. Hinata followed, making his steps light as possible. It wasn't like Saru seemed dangerous, Hinata just felt like he didn't belong. 

"This is Hinata Shouyou! I'm planning to adopt him to the family." The words didn't register quickly in Hinata's brain, so he proceeded to peek behind Akaashi to introduce himself. 

"H-hello! I'm Hinata--hold on, Bokuto-san, what do you mean adopt?" Shouyou looked at the male with a bewildered look, Akaashi chuckled. 

"I was joking, Shou-chan!"

* * *

"I was joking, Shou-chan!" _Or was I?_

Bokuto stepped back to swing his arm around the orange-head's shoulders. He noticed that Hinata didn't feel comfortable and he wanted to change that. 

Saru chuckled, "Never seen the boss so enthusiastic like that except for when he's with Akaashi," He held out his hand, "Sarukui Yamato, one of the executives here." 

Shouyou shook Saru's hand, "Is your hair naturally orange? Or is your hairdresser really damn good at their job?" 

The orange-head blinked at Saru and his hand went to his orange strands, "Natural." 

"Oh, that's oddly awesome." 

A chuckle came from Hinata, it seemed that he'd been asked the same question countless time before. 

"Well," Akaashi cleared his throat, "Let's go now." 

They led Hinata to the end of the floor, where Bokuto's personal elevator was. 

"Uhm, didn't we pass by the elevators?" Shouyou had a confused look on his face that made him look adorable.

"I've got my own elevator, Shou!" 

"Eh?" Bokuto braced himself for the barrage of cuteness coming, he also saw Saru watching in amusement, "T-That's so cool!" 

Hinata's face had a little flush, pupils blown wide at excitement. He looked so earnest and honest that it made Bokuto's heart clench at the cuteness. 

Sarukui raised a brow, mouthing the words, _"I get it."_ to Bokuto. 

He swept Hinata to the elevator and Akaashi pressed the second to the last floor where Washio, Sarukui, Komi and Konoha's office were. 

"I'll get this to Konoha first, Hinata." Akaashi ruffled the boy's hair as he held the envelope Hinata had "Then you can see the view from the top. You're not afraid of heights, are you?" 

Shouyou shook his head, "Nope!" 

"Good, the view is breathtaking." Said Bokuto. 

Bokuto noticed that the orange-head's eyes wandered around and took in every detail he could. Koutarou wished that Shouyou didn't feel too uncomfortable. 

The lift finally stopped on Konoha's floor. 

Akaashi got off the lift, "I'll deliver these myself, please go ahead."

Sarukui got off too, "See you around, Hinata-kun!" 

Hinata waved his goodbye. 

The lift's door closed, and Bokuto pressed the button towards the highest floor—his mostly unused floor. 

The lift moved, and Koutarou noticed that Shouyou kept shifting on his feet. 

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Shou?" 

Hinata turned to him and immediately shook his head, "Of course not!" 

"Well, you know Shou, I may not act like it, but I was raised to be the perfect businessman, so I know how to read people. You do too, right?" The lift stopped and the doors opened, Koutarou ushered Hinata to the empty floor. 

"Uhm.. Yeah, I know how to. My dad taught me." Mumbled Shouyou with a far-away look in his eyes. 

"I could tell you felt uncomfortable ever since 'Kaashi and I saw you on the streets." Koutarou placed a gentle hand on Hinata's head, "May I ask why?" 

Shouyou was silent for a few moments as they walked to Bokuto's office. It was his father's office before, and when he was bedridden, he asked for it to be renovated for Koutarou. The current Owl Head never really used it though. 

Bokuto turned the knob of the oak wood door, finding it locked. "Ah, I forgot to ask 'Kaashi for the keys." 

"I feel.. Really tiny .." A small voice took Koutarou's attention. He turned to the orange-head next to him, who was fumbling with the ends of his shirt. 

"Shou--" 

"How come you're friends with me, Bokuto-san?" Asked Hinata without turning to look at him, "I mean, I really enjoy spending time with you and Akaashi-san! But I really wonder how it became like this, how I even landed the job in Nekoma.." 

"It all seems surreal, like it's a dream. Tsukki probably won't believe me at first if I tell him I'm friends with the owner of Fukurodani enterprise and his secretary, that I met Councillor Haiba and played UNO with him, that I got to enter this tower and even got on a personal elevator.. I feel like I don't belong."

The _ding_ of the elevator took their attention, Akaashi came out when the doors opened. Bokuto's secretary immediately noticed the mood that hung heavy between the two. 

"Koutarou? Shouyou?" 

"Ah, Akaashi-san!" Hinata perked up, pulling a smile to his face. "The documents--" 

"Konoha received them perfectly, don't worry." Akaashi cut off, "Is something wrong, Shouyou?" 

Hinata let out a squawk-like sound, waving his hands around to say no. 

"'Kaashi." Called Bokuto, motioning to the locked door, "Keys?" 

"Here." The secretary walked to the two, unlocking the door with the keys he fetched from his pocket. 

Bokuto pushed the door open, revealing the almost-empty office. The combination of black, white and gray interiors mixed with the white furniture looked eye-pleasing. There weren't any little plants to serve as decorations since the office was locked most of the time, but there were framed art hanging in some parts of the room. 

There were blinds covering the three large glass windows too. Koutarou knew the view from up there, his mother used to let him sightsee through the windows all the time when he was young, before she passed. 

Hinata stood by the door, admiring the little details in the cold office while Bokuto walked to the windows and pulled the blinds away. 

"Woah.." Whispered Shouyou as the towering buildings close to the tower were seen through the glass. 

"Go ahead, Shou." Said Bokuto as he ruffled Hinata's soft orange hair with his fingers, "The view is as beautiful as we told you. Even more so at night." 

The orange-head took slow steps towards the window, slowly peeking down when he reached the spot next to where Koutarou was. 

"So high!" Shouyou let out a laugh, "The buildings look little from here." 

"Hmm, yeah." Hummed Bokuto, his owlish molten-gold eyes looking towards the view too, the sun wasn't at its highest point yet, and still seemed mellow as it shone upon the city, with clouds softly gracing the blue sky, it all seemed so beautiful and vast. Bokuto could stare at it for hours. 

"Shouyou." Called Bokuto without turning to the shorter boy, Akaashi was looking at them. 

"Yes..?" 

"People are bound to make connections, like how a little dot could transform and turn to letters, and letters turn to words, those words then turn to a story." Bokuto laughed, "It just so happened that you connected with me, with _us,_ and I don't mind at all! In fact, I'm very glad we met, and I'm looking forward to the story we'll make." 

Bokuto turned to Hinata, gold meeting earth-coloured gaze, "You might feel like you don't belong, but that's what our little meetings and hang outs are for, for us to know and feel like we belong to each other! Besides, you enjoy your time with us, don't you?" 

"Yes! Absolutely." 

"Clothes and fancy stuff don't make a person." Bokuto gave Hinata a pat on his back, as he continued, "Your personality makes you _you._ It's called _person_ ality for a reason, you know!" 

A chuckle came from Akaashi. 

"And you've got the brightest one I've ever had the honour of seeing, Shouyou. It's because of _you_ why I'm interested in you. I don't care for the brands of your clothes nor if you have a car or not." Bokuto laughed shortly, "Does that make sense?" 

Hinata's lips curled, nodding. "I'm sure that's the same for others too." Added Bokuto. 

"It's the same for me." Akaashi spoke up, stepping towards Hinata and engulfing him with a hug, Bokuto soon joined the hug-fest. 

"It's normal to feel like that Shouyou," Said Akaashi as he and Hinata hug, "I felt the same way, when Koutarou's father asked me to become his secretary even though I was working at an arcade and a café with no prior experience with being a secretary. I felt like the odd one out, I still do sometimes, but I have people I belong to now, though it didn't happen overnight. "

"You won't feel like you belong if you run from it." Keiji pinched Shouyou's soft cheeks, "I hope that helped you cheer up even a little."

* * *

Shouyou fell silent, admiring the ant-like way people move down below. 

He mulled over the two's words for a few minutes, his brain clearing off the fog of uncertainty that clouded his brain. 

_They're right. I'm having fun with everyone, and that won't change even with the judgemental stares thrown at me every time._

A smile overtook Hinata's face as he turned to Bokuto and Akaashi. 

"Thank you so much." Hinata hugged the two at the same time, his arms wrapping around each of their torsos. "I'm so glad I met you." 

"We're glad too, Shouyou." 

Hinata didn't leave the building with his head hanging low, instead he had his head high, laughing with Akaashi and Bokuto without paying mind to the eyes on him. 

Too bad he didn't see _that_ gaze too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update will come in four or five days. Hope you enjoyed!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry c̶r̶i̶s̶i̶s̶ 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨! 
> 
> Here's a chapter! I very much like seeing your thoughts and predictions about this story, but I'll keep my mouth shut for now~
> 
> Hope you enjoy this (unedited) chapter!!

"I'm gonna deliver to Yaku-san and Lev, right?" Asked Shouyou who was bouncing on his feet, he was a bit sweaty since he just got back from delivering for the Owls. 

Kenma lounged on the couch with his PSP in his hand, he motioned for Hinata to sit beside him but the orange-head opted to stand instead. 

"Yes, in Lev's office, a little further than Fukurodani's tower—how was the delivery, by the way?" Kuroo had his gaze focused on the pile of papers that were needed to be delivered, double-checking everything. 

Not that he'd find any flaw in it, Kenma prepared them himself. 

"It was great!" Shouyou beamed, much brighter than he did earlier, something must've happened, "I met with Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san." 

"Oya?" the Cat Head looked up from his task, looking at Hinata with surprise etched on his face, "Bokkun? He rarely ever goes there." 

Shouyou hummed, playing with the hem of his shirt, "Yeah, he told me that. They invited me inside the tower—it was huge, and had tons of people going about—did you know Bokuto-san had his own elevator?" Kenma watched in amusement as Hinata used his arms and cute facial expressions to enrich his tales with the Owls, even though both him and Kuroo had been and seen the tower themselves. 

Shouyou managed to paint another set of colours on everything, making the dark and dangerous world they live and grew up in seem a bit more colourful. More breathable. 

Kenma wondered to himself as Shouyou talked, what was it about Shouyou that seemed so enthralling? 

Hinata Shouyou and the word _cute_ could never be separated. Shouyou was the definition of the word itself, he was bright and radiant, like he came to be from a drop of sunshine. 

He was earnest, kind, and honest...and impeccably perceptive. 

Kenma turned his PSP on, half his focus on Hinata and half of it was on his thoughts. 

_"Kenma, always remember that the brightest colours are the easiest to taint." Nekomata gave a pat on the young Kenma's head, his shorter hair in its pure black colour still, "And the brighter the light, the darker the shadows it causes."_

His PSP fell on the floor with a _thud._

"Kenma?" 

"Ken?" 

The faux blond blinked away his surprise, meeting Kuroo's worried gaze. He lost his focus, even dropped his precious PSP. Kenma knew that Kuroo knew that something was wrong. 

The Cat Head sighed, "Were you up all night again? Should I sleep next to you again so that you'll sleep properly?" 

"Kenma!" Shouyou called with worry, "Are you alright?" 

"Yes, of course, Shou." Kenma picked his device from the floor, thank heavens the screen didn't crack, or he'd go feral. Without Shouyou around, of course. "Just remembered something." 

"Hm? Something?" Kuroo's chair creaked a little as the Cat Head stood, putting the papers in a brown envelope identical to the ones before. 

Two cat-like gazes met. 

_Later._ Kenma inwardly said, hoping Kuroo would get the gist. 

Tetsurou's eyebrows scrunched with curiosity and pursed his lips. _Alright,_ his expression said.

"Man," Shouyou exclaimed, taking up the attention in the room, "It's like you're talking with your eyes!" A laugh escaped the orange-head. 

_Well, you're not wrong._

"Hinata," Shouyou perked up at his name, skipping to Kuroo's table, "Give this to Lev, or maybe even Yaku if you can't find the lanky bastard. You know the usual instructions, right?" 

"Yup! Don't peek, get it wet or creased!" 

"Good." Kuroo handed the envelope, "Lev should be in the Council's office about this time, can you be back in an hour and a half?" 

"Of course!" 

"Don't let Lev drag you around, knowing him he'll probably try to impress you by showing you around. I want you to come back immediately, okay Hinata?" Instructed Kuroo while Shouyou listened attentively. 

"Got it!" 

"Give Kenma your phone, so he can set the digital map up." Sitting back down, Kuroo grinned, "Good luck!" 

Shouyou unzipped his little bag, taking the phone out with care. Kenma's amusement grew at the care Hinata had for the device, contemplating if he should gift his friend with a PSP just like his, or maybe an Xbox? 

"Here, Kenma," 

"Let me," The faux blond navigated through the apps with ease, Shouyou watching closely, he typed in the location and the fastest route was shown. 

"I think I get it now, I'll do this myself next time." Said Shouyou as he took the phone, glancing at the map, "Thanks Kenma, see you later!" 

Once again, Kenma and Kuroo were the only ones left in the office. Kuroo worked in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Kenma to say something first. 

"Did.." The shorter cat paused, weighing his words, "Did we get all the information about Shouyou?" 

Kuroo put his pen down, propping his elbow on the table and leaning on his palm, "Yes. That was all we could find." 

"I feel like something's missing." Muttered Kenma, grabbing his PSP beside him and playing, "There's a gaping hole that I can feel but can't see." 

"I'll look into it again," Declared the Cat Head, "but it's not like Hinata or his adoptive family has the authority to alter his records." 

"Right, but what if it's not Shouyou nor the Tsukishimas?" 

A tension-filled silence fell over the room.

  
  


"I can't wait…" Said Kenma, breaking the silence minutes after, "Can't wait to figure out who Hinata Shouyou truly is. He's really interesting."

* * *

Shouyou was left in awe by the Council Office.

A wide, two-story building, its roof was coloured a royal blue with the exterior mostly white with some lighter shade of blue, an expanse of large parking space was on both sides, filled with cars and vans. Luckily, there was a bike rack for Shouyou to lock his bike on. 

Pedalling to the bike rack (which had two other bikes parked already), Shouyou hummed, his heart feeling light and he didn't feel nervous at all, even though he might bump into people holding power over the city in a few minutes. 

He locked his bike, double-checking it though he doubted there would be anyone trying to steal when there were guards roaming around the huge parking space. 

With the documents in his hand, he walked towards the entrance which had glass doors, there were people going in and out too, showing Hinata how busy the office was. 

There was a guard too in the entrance, and he asked Hinata for an ID, which he always had on him but never really used yet, since in all his deliveries for Nekoma, Kuroo-san had already informed people that he was coming. 

The guard scanned his Nekoma ID, nodding as he was let in. 

Cool air welcomed Shouyou, making him shiver a bit since he had sweat on the way there. 

He went to the receptionist, asking where Lev's—Councillor Haiba's—office was. The kind woman smiled at him and told him directions on how to get to his destination, which turned out to be on the second floor. 

After thanking the kind lady, he went for the stairs, managing to catch the stares of more people in suits, but Shouyou didn't think it was because of what he wore—since there were other workers in shirt and polo-shirts too—it was probably because of his unruly and bright orange hair. 

Upon reaching the second floor, he turned right, eyes scanning the names on the wooden doors when he heard a kind of familiar voice call him out. 

"Hinata Shouyou?" 

It wasn't Yaku-san nor Lev's voice. 

Turning around on his heel, clutching the envelope with his right hand, he was greeted by the sight of another person in a black suit, his silver hair with black ends stood out, along with his golden eyes that were close to Bokuto's eye colour. 

"Uhm, hi! Though I never really caught your name.." Shouyou scratched the back of his head sheepishly, meeting the man's steely gaze.

A gaze that could make everyone wither away with the coldness it had. 

The man laughed—startling the taller, darker man behind him that Shouyou noticed just then, he was a completely new face, and he was tall!

"I suppose you didn't, Hinata-kun." The man held his hand up, "I'm Kita Shinsuke, Head of Inarizaki." 

Absentmindedly, Shouyou shook the man—Kita-san's—hand, he was held with a firm grip. 

"Inari.." Whispered Shouyou, trying to remember where he heard the name, "One of the companies I'm gonna deliver to!"

A chuckle escaped Kita Shinsuke, "Yes, we met in front of McDonald's before too, remember? I was with Kuroo, Bokuto, and the others." 

"Oh," Kita motioned to the taller man beside him who was watching the interaction with curiosity, "This is Aran Ojiro, my second-in-command." 

Hinata shook Aran's hand too, with a much gentler grip that betrayed his towering height. 

"Nice to meet you, Hinata Shouyou." Aran said with a gentle smile, making Hinata be at ease. 

"Nice to meet you, Aran-san!" 

"May I ask why you're here? Can I help you?" Kita asked after the introduction, "You're here to deliver?" 

"Uh, yes!" Shouyou showed the envelope, "To Lev--Councillor Haiba." 

"I guess you already made friends with him, Hinata-kun." Kita paused, "I can show you where his office is." 

"That would be great, thank you!" The orange-head bowed a bit, "If you're not busy?" 

"Of course," Kita motioned to the left side of the hallway, "Let's go?" 

"Let's!" 

Shouyou couldn't help but hum as they walked, he didn't feel anything alarming from the man and he seemed very nice actually, along with Aran-san. 

"So, Hinata.." Started Kita, "How is work with Nekoma?" 

"Great!" They passed by three doors now, "Kuroo-san and Kenma are so nice, even the others, like Kai-senpai, Tora-senpai and Fukunaga-san." Narrated Shouyou, his mind flashing the faces of his friends as he did so. 

"I see, that's nice," Kita stopped by a brown, oak door with Haiba engraved, Hinata perked up at the sight, "Inarizaki was planning to recruit you but Nekoma beat us to it, well, here you go." Kita motioned to the door, "Haiba's office." 

"Wait--what do you mean--" 

A hand ruffled Shouyou's hair, a gentle smile was on the male's face, "See you, Hinata-kun." 

Kita turned after waving, Aran following him, the taller male also gave him a small wave and a gentler _'bye bye!'_ , before they walked away, leaving Hinata alone. 

_They--they wanted to recruit me? For what?_

Hinata tucked the information in his mind, swearing he'd ask the man for more details about it the next time they meet. 

Taking the short time to compose himself, Hinata gave his face a pat with one hand, before knocking on Lev's door. 

The door swung open, revealing a _very_ _tall,_ and _gorgeous_ woman. 

"Levochka? Who's this?" The soft, bell chime-like voice of the silver-haired woman echoed in Hinata's ears, she had the same startling green eyes as Lev, so Hinata had already connected the dots. 

_Lev's sister._

"Hm? Hinata!" Lev, dressed in his silver-and-black suit, stood up from his seat in an instant, Yaku took a peek too, a smile on his face as he motioned with his hand for Hinata to come inside. 

Lev's sister stared at him for a bit, blinking in surprise before she happily exclaimed, "A friend of Levochka! You could be a model, you know darling? Your daring orange hair would be your trademark, oh! You're so perfectly cute too, a bit of touch-up here and there and you'll be--" 

"Lisa-nee, don't overwhelm Hinata!" 

Shouyou's face on the other hand, heated up with every word (compliments?) thrown his way by the woman. He was sure his face was the colour of his hair. 

Lev stepped in between him and his sister, fingers brushing against Shouyou's orange strands in an instant, "You've come to deliver, didn't you? Come inside!" 

Hinata was ushered inside by the tall male, laughing loudly. Yaku closed the door when Hinata was inside, "There, we have privacy." 

"What's your name, darling? Have you ever modeled before? Do you want to try? I can definitely guide you, I'm sure you'll be a natural! Oh, you'll be perfect for a perfume ad, also a model for clothes since you look so adorable! You'll look great for a summer cata--" The woman continued to gush words—Shouyou only managed to grasp less than half of them—heart pounding against his ears as the stunning woman beamed at him. 

"You're breaking him, Alisa." Yaku teased, carding his fingers through Hinata's hair, "Poor Shouyou probably biked all the way here, come sit." Shouyou found himself sitting on a leather couch, "Drink too," and glass of orange juice in his grasp. 

"T-thank you." Shouyou took a refreshing gulp, "This tastes good." And then he smiled his signature smile. 

"Ohmygosh, Levochka! Let's keep him!" Gushed the woman—he hadn't even caught her name yet. 

Yaku must've seen the look on his face, and took it upon himself to introduce Lev's sister who looked oddly familiar. 

"This is Haiba Alisa, her billboard is displayed on the town centre, have you seen it?" Yaku proclaimed proudly, "Though unfortunately, she has Lev here for a brother. Younger brother." 

A complaint flew out of Lev's mouth, making everyone else in the room chuckle, along with Hinata. 

"Oh, don't say that, Yakkun, Lev is a darling," Lev positively _glowed_ at that, "He's my favourite little brother." 

"I'm your _only_ little brother," Grumbled Lev as he plopped next to Shouyou, the orange-head gave him the documents, "Thanks, Hinata, how's Kuroo-san?" 

"Good," Kuroo's terrifying face flashed in Hinata's mind, making his fingers grip the glass, "Though he got angry earlier because of Suguru-san." 

"Geh." Both Yaku and Lev scrunched their noses, Alisa looked at them, confused, "That guy is so petty! I get why--hold on, how do you know Daishou?" 

"He fixed my bike! I'll visit him soon again too," Hinata took a sip of his juice, "Probably tomorrow. He's really nice, he even gave me orange juice too." 

"Did Kuroo scare you?" Yaku took his own glass of juice, "He always reacts badly when Daishou's mentioned. I could probably guess he did the same thing, maybe even worse since it's _you._ " 

"What's different with me?" Hinata tilted his head to the side in confusion (Alisa whispered _'how cute!'_ once more). 

"You're.. Hm," Yaku pulled a thinking face.

"You're tiny! And cute, like a puppy, and Daishou-kun's a snake, he could kill you. Kuroo-san probably got too protective." Chirped Lev, browsing through the documents he just received, "I mean, I understand where he's coming from." Something flashed in Lev's green eyes. 

"I'm not tiny!" Whined Shouyou, finishing his juice up, "I can fight!—I think.. I'm pretty agile." 

"Oho?" Yaku poked his cheek lightly with a finger, "How?" 

"I can run really fast..?" Shouyou hesitantly declared. 

"A really fast puppy!" Cheered Alisa with a bright smile on her face. She really was meant to be a model; she was _beautifully alluring._ So beautiful that Hinata didn't even remember to complain about being called a puppy. 

Shouyou spent twenty minutes more in Lev's office, before he excused himself. 

"Let's go Hinata-chan." Alisa took her purse with her, "I'm about to leave too, let's leave together, okay?" 

"Bye Chibi-chan!" Lev suddenly hugged Shouyou, his long arms wrapping around his shoulders, "So warm! I really love your hugs." 

The orang-head laughed, hugging the tall green-eyed male back, "See you soon, Lev!" 

Shouyou then turned to Yaku, who had a lop-sided smile, "Stay safe, Hinata. Tell Kuroo I hope he chokes on his lunch." 

"That's mean." Chuckled Shouyou, "I'll see you soon!" Hinata waved enthusiastically. 

On the way out, Alisa kept on telling Shouyou how he'll look great as a model, even going on listing out brands she modeled for before that would probably love to have him endorse them. Hinata only shook his head as he blushed, telling that no one would take him since he was practically unknown. 

They were so preoccupied that they didn't notice the pair of eyes observing Hinata Shouyou's every move. 

* * *

"Orange hair..." The man breathed out, not believing what he just saw even though he had been watching the kid with unruly and unique hair. 

"What are the odds..?" 

* * *

Aran looked at the Head through the rear view mirror. 

A soft smile was playing on Kita's lips, a smile Hinata Shouyou caused. 

Well, it wasn't like he didn't know of _the_ Hinata Shouyou's existence, in fact, he was the only other Fox that knew of the cheery orange-head. 

He just didn't expect the kid to be...the sun itself. 

Aran really should've seen it coming, no ordinary person could gather Kita Shinsuke's attention and interest just like that—heck, all the Heads were interested. 

"Aran." Kita's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. 

"Yes?" 

"Don't tell the twins--no, don't tell _anyone_ in Inarizaki about Hinata Shouyou yet." Instructed Kita with the usual calm tone in his voice, his eyes looked brighter though, "Not yet." 

"Alright." 

Hinata Shouyou shall become a secret. 

For now, at least.

* * *

"Welcome back, Shouyou." Kenma opened the door for him, lips curled into a welcoming smile. 

"Kenma!" Cheered Hinata, "I delivered as ordered!" Shouyou stepped into the office, waving at Kuroo who was still preoccupied with documents; they seemed thicker than usual. 

"Chibi." Kuroo nodded at him, "Your deliveries are done for the day, but can you help Tora and Shohei organizing some documents? They'll tell you how." Asked Kuroo with a small smile, "I know it's not your job, but--" 

"Of course! I'll be happy to!" Shouyou nodded, "I don't mind working, I also want to work for that huge amount of pay you'll give me, and the phone." 

"Don't mind the--" Kuroo paused, shaking his head with a smile, "Fine, go ahead. They should be in the stockroom, ask Shibayama if you don't know where it is. Don't overwork yourself, okay? Your shift ends at five." 

"Alright!" 

Hinata did as he was told, meeting with Fukunaga and Taketora to organize piles upon piles of documents by date. The work wasn't too hard, though there was a ridiculous amount of dust that clung to him by the time they were done. 

When the clock struck 5:10, he knocked on Kuroo's door. 

It was Shibayama who opened the door for him, inviting him in, but Shouyou shook his head. 

"I'm too dusty! I don't want to bring it inside," Shouyou scrunched his nose, he looked too messy, he was sure he'd get stares when he exited Nekoma, "Can I just get my bag back, and I'll be on my way home?" 

"Ah, sure," Shibayama fetched his bag from the coffee table, "Here, Hinata." 

"Thanks!" Kenma (who had his hair in a low ponytail) walked to the door where Shouyou was, looking ready for a hug, but Shouyou stepped back, "Kenma, I'm dusty! Very dusty." 

Kenma frowned, "So what." 

"Let's hug tomorrow, I don't want to get you dirty!" Shouyou gave his friend a bright grin, "See you!" he waved at Kuroo and Shibayama too. 

He turned, placing his fanny pack bag across his chest, checking his old phone for any messages—

**_From: Tsukki Kei_ **

**** **_Shou, I'll bring dinner so don't cook._ **

Shouyou blinked in surprise, Tsukki probably was bringing take-outs from the restaurant he worked for. 

**_To: Tsukki Kei_ **

**** **_Alright, stay safe!_ **

There was another message, from an unknown number. 

**_From: +81********_ **

**** **_TANGERINE. Let's play volleyball this weekend._ **

Stopping in his tracks, Shouyou wondered who the sender was. 

_Tangerine? Tangerine…_

Something clicked in Shouyou's mind. 

_That blueberry-head! He probably got my number from Suga-san._

With a big pout on his face, Shouyou typed his reply. 

**_To: KAGEYAMA THE BLUEBERRY_ **

**_STOP CALLING ME TANGERINE U WALKING BLUEBERRY. Also, Idk if I'll be busy, but I'll text u if I can make it! It's up to u to get other players bc I don't know that much ppl here yet, lol._ **

"Hinata? Oh, you're all dusty," A voice took Shouyou's attention, making him look up from his phone. 

"Kai-senpai!" 

After sending the message, the orange-head tucked his phone away, giving his senpai all his attention. 

"You're going home now, right?" Kai took in his appearance, "Do you want to use the other entrance, there aren't many people there." 

"There's another entrance?!" Squawked Hinata. 

A chuckle tumbled off Kai's throat, "Yes, though we need to pass by… Other places.." 

Shouyou made a confused noise, but he was led by Kai, the taller man sticking close to him. Closer than usual. 

They passed by a series of hallways with closed rooms—Kenma told him before that those were little offices, since Nekoma had different departments that took care of other stuff he didn't know of. 

The oddest thing that stood out to Hinata was two rooms when they were out of the main building, the rooms were separated from the other and were made of pure concrete; they held no elegance to them too, compared to the other rooms and offices. 

"What are those, Kai-senpai?" Shouyou pointed at the two odd rooms, "Toilets?" 

"Uh, another stockroom. But not for documents," Kai hastened his steps, "Come Shouyou, the bike racks are close."

The bike racks were indeed closer, compared to the main entrance. 

"Can I use this entrance again, Senpai?" Asked Shouyou as he unlocked his bike, "It's closer, and people won't stare at me." 

"I--" Kai took a deep breath, before curling his lips in a tight smile, "I'll ask Kuroo, for now, can you still use the main entrance? I know you feel uncomfortable with the stares, so I thought I could save you the trouble for today, especially since you look..messy." 

"I understand." 

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Hinata." 

"See you!" 

Shouyou placed his locks in his basket, said one last goodbye, before he pedalled away.

* * *

Tsukishima, in his usual break, fiddled with his phone. 

_Should I call him?_ He stared in contemplation at the number and name on his phone. 

_Ah, fuck it._ He pressed the dial _._

It rang once.. Twice.. Then Yamaguchi picked up. 

"Tsukki?" 

"Yamaguchi!" Kei inwardly cursed at his overly enthusiastic tone, clearing his throat, "Yama..guchi.."

A cute chuckle echoed through the speakers, "Good afternoon, Tsukki." 

"I.. Uh.." Kei gave himself a punch in the face, mentally. "How are you?" 

"Great," There was shuffling on Yama's side, "I'm preparing an ice pack, a friend of mine got this serious bruise on his side." 

"Oh? What happened?" Worry bled in Tsukishima's tone, "Are you hurt?" 

"Hm? No, not me. I didn't get hurt. He got caught off guard, so.." Tadashi trailed off. 

_Caught off guard? By what--who?_

"What happened?" 

"Work stuff, we were..moving stuff and he bumped over some counter, really hard." Tadashi laughed, "He didn't tell anyone before, but he opened up a bit due to this someone special." 

Tsukki fell silent, mulling over his next words. 

"Are you two close?" 

"Hn?" There were some familiar clinking of ice, "Not that much? We got..hired almost at the same time, we're the youngest." 

"Ah. I see." Fiddling with his cufflinks, Tsukishima fell silent once more. 

Yamaguchi too, fell silent, and the seconds seemed to stretch uncomfortably. 

"Are you.." Yamaguchi seemed to suppress a chuckle, "Are you jealous, Tsukki?" 

"What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous, why should I be jealous?" 

_Fuuuuck._

"Riiight.." Yamaguchi laughed, "Can we meet this Saturday night? And yes, I'm asking for another date." 

Glancing around if there were anyone listening—there was none—Tsukki answered with a smile that could be heard in his words. 

"Of course, after my shift, is that alright?"

* * *

Shouyou and Tsukki prepared their dinner—a takeaway from Tsukki's work. 

"These look delicious!" Shouyou sat on his seat, eyes trailing over the food. 

"It should be. It's for rich, fancy people." Muttered Tsukki, grabbing a glass of water before sitting. 

"Go ahead, eat." Kei motioned, eyes looking soft as he fondly looked at his brother who just finished showering, "Eat a lot." 

"Thanks for the meal!"

* * *

Hinata turned the knob to his room, immediately noticing that he left his window slightly open. 

He quickly shut it down, his skin caressed by the cold autumn air outside. Humming, he took his futon out, fixing his bed for the night. 

His body was rid of dust now, and all the biking he did today finally settled on his bones, his muscles aching for sleep. 

He checked his phone, there was one message from Akaashi, wishing him a good night sleep, he quickly typed in a reply and headed to bed, eyes closing and he fell into the arms of sleep that held him comfortably. 

-

Shouyou's closed eyes twitched, opening slowly, he was met with cold darkness. Turning, he slowly got out of his blankets, feet padding carefully in the dark. 

Since Shouyou's room had no windows, he knew his small space like the back of his hand, even in the dark. 

Hinata's sleep muddled mind then registered the rustling outside his door. 

Eyes widening in panic, he slid the door open hastily, his gaze landing on the mop of orange hair identical to his on the floor. 

_"Natsu!"_ Horror filled Shouyou's small body as he kneeled and took his sister's body in his arms—she was so cold! Why did she leave her room when she had strict instructions--

_"Shou-nii.."_ Natsu's voice sounded more croaky than usual, _"Mom.."_

_"Natsu, don't talk anymore! I'll get you water--"_

A hauntingly cold hand cupped Shouyou's cheek. 

_"Shou-nii, listen.."_

Wordlessly, Shouyou leaned closer to his dear sister. Dread filling him and making his blood run cold, why was Natsu out? Did she crawl all the way out? For how long was she outside Shouyou's door? She shouldn't be out of her room, especially in this winter--

The words next uttered knocked the air out of Shouyou's little body. 

  
  


_"Mom stopped breathing."_

_…_

_…_

"Natsu!" Shouyou burst awake, tears free falling from his eyes. Looking around frantically, he searched for the window of his room, he looked for outside—an indication that he wasn't in _that_ house anymore. 

And there it was, his window, framed by simple light blue curtains, it was slid shut—he could remember sliding it shut last night. 

_I'm not there anymore. I'm not there._

"Shouyou?" Kei's muffled voice came from outside his door.

Shouyou froze for a moment—his mind flashed the horrifying sight of Natsu lying helplessly on the cold floor—before he took a shaky breath, hoping his racing heart would calm down. 

"Kei? I'm fine." 

"I heard you scream--" 

Body feeling sluggish, Shouyou got out of his futon, feet padding against the cold floor— _I'm not there anymore._

He slowly opened the door, and he was met with— _please don't be orange—_ blond mop of Tsukishima's hair, his honey gold eyes filled with worry. 

"Are you alright? No, you screamed _her_ name. Do you want to skip out work for today? I can send a text to your boss--" 

Shouyou cut off Kei's rambling with a hug. 

_Warm._ Kei was warm, not hauntingly cold. 

A large hand gave soft pats on Shouyou's head, fingers carding through his hair in a comforting manner. 

"I'm here. You're not alone." 

Breathing deep through his nose, Shouyou's body eased, even a little. 

"Wait--is something burning?" Asked Shouyou as he pulled back from the hug. 

"Shit. The eggs!" 

Scrambling, Tsukki sprinted to the kitchen, turning the stove off in an instant. 

A short laugh escaped Shouyou despite the heaviness in his heart and mind, a laugh that was cut short as her voice seemed to whisper to his ears, 

  
  
  


_"Will someone save us, Shou-nii?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, anyone seen the newest illustration for Natsu? I swear I lost my mind, she's so prettyyyy
> 
> See you soon, next chapter before New Year!


	14. message

Hi, Kazu here.

I know this wasn't the chapter I promised to come before the new year (have a great new year btw), but I do have something to say.

I haven't been in a good place lately, both mentally and physically. Everything has been shitty for me lately and I really am not in the right mind to write coherently. It's been extra harder for me to focus on writing since first, I'm studying and pursuing different scholarships, and second—I've got some personal family issues right now that's been stressing me out.

I almost orphaned/deleted all my stories in this account, but a friend talked me out of it. So I guess the updates would be really irregular, I honestly don't know when I'll have the time to plot and write—though I do have around 2k words typed for the next chapter.

I sometimes read the comments, though I deactivated my twitter, so if you've got something to say, please leave it in the comments.

I'm sorry, and thanks for the support and love you've given this story.

Sending love, K.


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this chapter has been sitting in my drafts for too long and well, admittedly, I struggled to finish it but I managed to reach my word goal (4k+) and I wanted to give this to all of you, I hope you'd like it.
> 
> Thank you all so much for the support you've given. Know that I've read all of them, and all I can say is—I love all of you. Very much.

Kuroo sipped on his still-steaming coffee, only wincing a bit at the heat that greeted his tongue. 

His eyes scanned the documents Inarizaki sent so early in the morning (Suna Rintarou's flat stare looked particularly creepy at four in the morning), skimming through the suspected lists of families affiliated with the growing, unnamed rebel group that was a constant pain in the ass for the Syndicate lately. 

There was shuffling of clothes that could be heard, and Kuroo—after finishing a page—looked up at Kenma who was straightening his dress shirt before taking his red coat that went down to his knees. 

"Ready?" Kuroo placed his cup down, propping his elbow on the table and leaning on his palm as he poured his focus on the shorter cat inside the room. 

"Yeah. I'll return as early as possible so I can see Shouyou," Kenma took his phone, "I'll leave in a few minutes." 

A yawn suddenly came from Kuroo, making Kenma's brows furrow. Tetsurou immediately knew that Kenma was worried, so he waved his hand around in an attempt to brush the worry away. 

"I'm fine, Ken." Kuroo's fingertip traced the rim of his cup, "I functioned on lesser sleep before, we just need to take care of this problem, fast." 

A sigh escaped Kenma, he too, had bags under his eyes, albeit not as dark as Kuroo's. "I know, we'll plan something, _anything_ to weed out pests." 

"I heard that Oika's pissed off, again. He's probably having fun with his tools and toys." The Cat Head smirked, remembering the glimmer of well-kept intricate knives that Oikawa had. They were all probably bloody at this time. 

"Probably. I just hope he doesn't bring his wrath to the meeting." The faux blond took out a hair tie, tying his long hair in a low ponytail, "I don't want Sugawara being pissed too." 

"Kita will be there! Akaashi too, so I'm sure you'll be fine." Assured Kuroo, taking a few gulp of his coffee, now ignoring the heat, before going back to his never-ending stack of documents. 

A knock took their attention, the door opened and revealed Shibayama. 

"Kozume-san, the car's ready. Would you like to leave now?" 

Kenma turned to Kuroo, who stood up from his seat in an instant, walking to the faux blond. 

"Yes, Shibayama, wait for me there." Kenma dismissed the younger Cat with a wave. 

Upon reaching where Kenma was, Kuroo placed a gentle hand on Kenma's shoulder, "Good luck. I'll tell Hinata you went out for business." 

Grasping Kuroo's hand, Kenma gave it a comforting squeeze, "Thanks, Tetsu. I'll be back."

* * *

Two hours after Kenma left, five minutes before nine, Hinata Shouyou arrived.

Kuroo looked up from his laptop, he was chatting with Bokuto about some business, when a knock came, along with Shouyou's muffled voice. 

"Chibi-chan! Come in." Typing in a quick goodbye to Bokkun, Kuroo closed his laptop. 

"Good morning, Kuroo-san!" Hinata glanced around the room, "Eh, where's Kenma?" 

"Out for business, he's in a meeting with some important people." Kuroo stood up, stretching his limbs with a sigh, "I've been working for a few hours now, Chibi-chan." 

Hinata's face showed worry, "Don't you need rest, Kuroo-san?" 

Tetsurou waved a hand, lips curling into his Cheshire cat smile, "I've functioned on less, Chibi-chan." 

Laughing shortly, Hinata plopped down on the couch, taking his worn-out fanny pack bag off his shoulders and dumping it on the spot beside him. The two spent the next few minutes in silence, with Kuroo doing the little stretching he could do while in his formal pants and dress shirt, and Hinata staring at the ticking clock on one side of the room. 

Shouyou was silent—unnervingly silent. Usually, even if he's not talking, he'd hum a joyful tune, or drum his fingers or tap his feet. This morning though, Kuroo noticed that Hinata was zoning out. 

_Is it because he's still spooked about the last time about Daishou?_ Kuroo grimaced at the thought, _Is it awkward because Ken's not here?_

Kuroo threw a subtle side-glance as he finished his short stretch. _No, if Hinata's spooked, he'd be fidgeting around, probably glancing around the room and hyper-aware of me looking at him. He doesn't even notice-_

"Oh!" Shouyou blinked several times, as if he remembered something, and turned to Kuroo, "Will I do deliveries today, Kuroo-san?" 

"No, since the document you were supposed to deliver was already taken by Kenma, you'll be spending time helping in Nekoma today." Kuroo checked the time, he really didn't have much for Hinata to do—he was also limiting Hinata's exploration of Nekoma's building, there was a possibility he'd encounter one of _those_ rooms. He couldn't risk it. 

"Ah." Nodded Shouyou, "Okay.." 

… and the orange-head promptly went back to zoning out. 

The Cat Head pursed his lips, there was something bothering Hinata, and it now bothered him too. 

Then a knock startled Kuroo. 

"Come in." 

"Good morning, Kuroo." Kai came in, eyes immediately zeroing in on Hinata who turned his head around and gave a small wave at the third-in-command. 

"Kai," The Cat Head walked to the door where the other male was, "Where's Tora?"

"Helping with Shohei, why?" 

Kuroo leaned close to Kai, lowering his voice so that Shouyou wouldn't hear, "I need work for Hinata." 

"I see," Nodded Kai, "I'll try to make him sort some documents again, Tora and Shohei will keep an eye," 

"Thank you," Turning, he called for Shouyou, "Chibi-chan! Kai will show you what to do for now!" 

Perking up, Shouyou stood from the couch, leaving his bag behind, "Good morning, Kai-senpai!" 

"Good morning," There was a constant gentle smile on Kai's face, "Did you get a good night sleep?" 

It was only a fraction of a second, and there was a chance that Nobuyuki didn't notice—but Kuroo did. 

Hinata froze and flinched. 

_He had a nightmare then?_ Shouyou was led out of the room, and Kuroo gave a smile as he closed the door to his office. _What kind of nightmare would result to that?_

  
  


* * *

  
  


It was lunch time when Shouyou got back from working with Taketora and Fukunaga, and Kuroo was eating sushi and invited the orange-head to join him. 

"Thanks for the food," Murmured Shouyou as he dug into the food, chewing silently and not looking at Kuroo. 

Luckily for Kuroo, he had already planned how he'd approach Hinata. 

"Hinata." 

"Yes?" Shouyou looked up from his food. 

"What do you think of Kenma?" Kuroo placed more nigiri on the orange-head's plate, "Eat up," 

"Thank you," Shouyou finally met his gaze, "Kenma? He's really smart, and calm. I think he could be friendlier but he doesn't like going out of his comfort zone that much, he's an introvert, which makes him even more amazing since he can maintain his high position here in Nekoma despite not wanting to stand out much." Shouyou munched on his food, eyes looking soft as he talked about the faux blond. 

_He really can read people, huh._ Kuroo mused, _I wonder what he thinks of me._

"Yeah, you're pretty much spot on, Chibi." He recalled some of his memories of a black-haired Kenma with a terrible posture and hair covering his face most of the time, "There are times when I wonder why we're together at all, why I'm in Nekoma."

"I assumed you're childhood friends, Kuroo-san, though I might be completely wrong," Chirped Shouyou as he took a glass of water, "Like your families were close friends of some sort." 

"Well, I'll need a family first, for that to happen." Kuroo's words were said with nonchalance that made Hinata still. 

Tetsurou waited for it, a barrage of questions regarding his non-existent family. He didn't have any harsh feelings now, though his younger self cursed his unknown parents to the deepest parts of hell before; in a twisted way, those parents made him into the man he was now, the Cat Head of Nekoma. He wouldn't have met Kenma if they kept him. 

"I see." Shouyou scooped more soup for himself—Kuroo noticed he ate pretty large servings for someone his height, "I'm wrong then." 

Kuroo was silent as he waited for something along the lines of, _"where are your parents, Kuroo-san?"_ or _"You're an orphan?!"_

None came. 

"Aren't you curious, Hinata?" Tetsurou couldn't help himself, "About my parents?" 

Kuroo's smile tightened as he was suddenly subjected to the sharp look in Shouyou's eyes as he looked at him—the gentle color of melted chocolate darkened into a dangerous hue. 

"I've always known that no family is ever perfect, and not all parents are the greatest." Shouyou said with his voice laced with a tone that told Kuroo that Shouyou _understood_. 

_Ah…_ How could he momentarily forget? Shouyou was an orphan just like him. 

"That's true," Kuroo smiled a gentle smile that seemed to have made Hinata ease, the dark hue in his eyes was gone too. 

"Well, you know, I grew up on the streets." Tetsurou picked up a nigiri with his chopsticks, "With the snake bastard Daishou." 

"Oh?" Shouyou perked up at the statement, "So that's why Suguru-san talked like that before!" 

"Like what?" 

"Well," Shouyou flashed a sheepish smile, "I may have ranted to Suguru-san before, about how the city is confusing. He said something along the lines that, yes, it takes some time for people to get used to it, and that the streets are cruel.. Or something.." 

A huff escaped Kuroo, "That's true, but I don't like how he said it." 

Shouyou laughed, free and airy, like he wasn't that troubled before, if Kuroo didn't see how disturbed Shouyou was earlier, he would've assumed that the orange-head was the same as normal. 

The Cat Head finished his food, Shouyou wasn't too far behind and was finishing up his sushi. 

"You know, Hinata," Kuroo played with his silk red necktie (that he loosened moments ago), "I never expected to meet Kenma." 

"Hm?" 

"You see.." Kuroo leaned in close to Shouyou who just finished up his food, the orange-head grabbed a glass of water first and drank before fully turning his attention to Kuroo. "Kenma was born rich. I think it's obvious that I wasn't." 

Shouyou nodded, his attention rapt on the Cat Head, Kuroo continued, “I met Kenma when I was fifteen, and he was fourteen.”

"How?" 

"Well, Daishou, me, and a couple of other kids escaped from an orphanage," A grimace formed on Kuroo's lips, "There wasn't much to go around and we figured we could at least cut the numbers of mouths to feed, even just a little." Shouyou's mouth was agape, "The others settled in the countryside, only Suguru-" Kuroo faked a cough, " _Daishou,_ and I managed to reach this city. We have lived in the city's streets since we were fourteen." 

* * *

_“Tetsu.” Daishou called, his dust-covered hand landing on Kuroo’s shoulder that made the black-haired kid scrunch up his nose._

_“Suguru,” Kuroo tugged his shoulder away, "How's tinkering?"_

_“Not good.” Suguru’s stomach growled. The two of them ignored it._

_"What job did you get today?" Asked Daishou, picking with the hem of his shirt._

_"Nothing," Kuroo huffed, "What about you?"_

_"Just the usual tinkering with the scraps I saw, you know, motor and stuff." A grimace formed on his face, "I got burned, a couple of times, electrocuted a bit too. I'm basing everything from the books we've read in the orphanage before, but.."_

_Kuroo threw a side glance, "I get it.. You okay?"_

_Suguru snorted a laugh, "Better than you, I suppose."_

That's true, _Kuroo thought to himself._

_"I've heard whispers too, about the organization of some sort that this city has." Suguru sat on the grass beside Kuroo, looking at the way the river went on. "The Syndicate, that's what it's called."_

_"Well, that's kind of..boring?" Kuroo picked on the stray rocks he found lying around, "I expected the name to be.. I don't know, the Bloody Mafia? Blood Genesis?"_

_"You're just remembering that corny and cheap movie we've seen before."_

_"Whatever!" A huff escaped the black-haired kid that made Suguru's lips twitch in amusement, "We shouldn't get involved in it."_

_"I know." The snake-eyed kid touched his cheek that was covered in soot and dirt that gave it a dark stain, "Never get involved in the Syndicate. You won't be able to leave once you do.."_

_A breeze passed, cooling both kids' skin._

_"And it's a hellish life, I heard. You can only live fancy when you're up top of the food chain, but errand boys are not too far from us." Suguru picked on his torn shirt, ignoring the way his stomach ached for food, "I'm gonna search for food, let's meet here before sundown and share what we find."_

_Kuroo let out a hum, "Yeah," He stood up, brushing away the pieces of grass that stuck to his skin, "Good luck, hope we find something good."_

_Suguru stood too, frowning at the sight of a small cut on his palm, "Yeah, you too."_

_"Try to keep yourself out of trouble, you dumbass!"_

_Suguru flipped a finger towards Kuroo, "See you, asshole."_

_"Yeah," Kuroo flashed his middle finger too._

  
  


* * *

Mannnn, _Kuroo bemoaned internally,_ where's the food? 

_His gaze followed the people going about their day, some on their phones while some talked to someone, most kept to themselves though._

_He walked with no particular direction in mind, maneuvering through the maze-like streets of the city. He soon found himself in the town centre, where multitudes of people went about. There were people handing out flyers, some tried to entice some passers-by into buying whatever things they sold, most were in their fancy clothes which could probably feed Kuroo for a month or two._

_"Oh to be born with actual loving parents," A bitter smile curled on his lips, "Whatever."_

_Kuroo decided to head for the eateries and restaurants—before he could reach those though, he'd have to pass by the shopping district where shops of all things could be found. He could see through the glass panes all the displayed products—there were shoes with all the different designs and colours, he managed to overhear something about the prices before and a pair of those shiny shoes alone could feed him and Suguru for weeks!_

_Then there was the music store—there used to be some sort of music playing loud from the store that always had its doors open, the doors were now closed though._

_Before, Kuroo would stay by the short alley beside it, listening to the music with words he could sometimes not comprehend. The owner, well, the original owner was an old man with a unique gray beard, he had lines and creases on his face that clearly shown his old age but never did he look at Kuroo nor Suguru (though he only saw Suguru twice) with disgust that seemed to prick on their skin._

_He_ was _a kind person. His son who took over the store? Not so much. The old circular products (Suguru called them CDs and Vinyls) were slowly being replaced by another product—he could only squint his eyes to see the letters but he read that those were called_ 'game consoles'. 

_Kuroo could never stay and observe those weird products long enough though, the new asshole who ran the shop always shooed him away. He didn't want trouble anyway._

_He walked on the sidewalk with his head down, passing by the old music shop. He stole a glance and saw a bunch of kids with their parents as they pointed on the new products. Kuroo couldn't really understand what they were saying but with the large grin on their lips and the lovingly sickening look on the faces of the adults, the products were probably meant for teens and children._

_As he returned his gaze back to his dirty feet covered in scratches (he wore thin slippers and had to avoid stepping on sharp things), he didn't really notice the small figure in front of him._

_"Sorry!" Kuroo immediately reeled back, spotting the..boy..? Kuroo couldn't be too sure because the person's black hair went down to their shoulders, and they had a hood covering most of their head, "I wasn't looking where I was going,"_

_"'s fine.." Kuroo had to strain to hear the words spoken too softly, "Excuse me.." Then the person sidestepped and scuttled to the store._

_"Weird." He threw a glance at the shop, seeing the person pull down their hoodie to reveal a soft-looking face._

I still don't know if they're a boy or a girl! _Kuroo scrunched his nose, cutting his stare off,_ Whatever, not my business. 

_Kuroo then went on his way to find food, still keeping an eye on his steps. When he reached the place where restaurants and tucked-away eateries were located, he had his gaze sweep on every corner of the place, looking for anyone who didn't finish their food in hopes of having a bite for him and Suguru._

_It took a while of waiting, when a man with his hair nearly turned full gray exited a restaurant—Kuroo didn't know what food he had but by the looks of it, there were still leftovers that he could salvage on and he'd rather not waste any but of food._

_So taking steps as casual as he could (not that he'd blend in with the crowd, not with his unkempt appearance), he got closer and closer to the man with eyes that reminded Kuroo of the cat he saw before. It was an old white cat, but it watched Kuroo like he was its prey._

_Kuroo could feel something off about the man—like his gut was telling him that the old man was dangerous, along with the other shaved-head man beside him, however, Kuroo was_ starving. _Suguru too. And he needed food._

_"Nekomata, sir. Kenma sneaked out again." Kuroo caught the words of the shaved-head man, while the old man only laughed in amusement._

_Kuroo kept on inching closer, hoping that the men won't finish the…was that bread? Whatever, food was food. He hoped they wouldn't immediately chuck the food in the trash—Kuroo had gotten sick from eating food that came from the bin before._

_"Let's go, Naoi." The old man motioned with his hand, and Kuroo saw he was about to throw the piece of food he had left—_

_"Kenma can come back on his ow-"_

_Kuroo dashed without wasting a moment, snatching the piece of bread away before they could even throw it on the bin. He caught the old man's gaze—he wasn't that surprised compared to the shaved-head man beside him, but he didn't have time to mull about that. In an instant, he secured the bread with his hand and ran away._

_The men didn't chase after him—it was probably just a measly piece of bread for them, but for Tetsurou and Suguru, it was their food for the first time in a few days._

_Kuroo ran and ran, adrenaline fueling him and making him momentarily forget about the gnawing pit of emptiness on his stomach—he was panting like crazy when he stopped, but he was sure there was no one after him._

_He then glanced on their dinner—it really was the circular bread called pizza that he'd seen before, well, a piece of it anyway. And it turned out to be spicy too, since the smell seemed sharp._

_"It's half-eaten.. But at least we'd get to eat something.. I hope Suguru finds something too." Tucking away the bread (that smelt delicious though spicy) on the paper-like wrapper it had, Kuroo slumped against the wall he ran to._

_Stealing half-eaten food that people were about to throw away was different from plain stealing food. Kuroo and Suguru never really stole anything people were going to dispose of—they used to ask for spare change and hunt for leftovers in the bins but those methods didn't exactly work out._

_Even if they had enough money for food, people never really trusted them, especially with their 'obviously homeless' look, and the little money they get always ended up being spent on vending machines, and despite being homeless, Suguru and Tetsurou knew they couldn't live off of junk foods._

_And the hunting for leftovers in the bin? They've gotten into way too much trouble for that._

_One time, they thought they were lucky to find handfuls of bread—only to find out that the bastard owners had put something—Kuroo assumed it was liquid soap—on the bread for no goddamn reason at all!_

_("Why are they such assholes?!" Suguru asked then, choking a bit at the awful taste._

_Kuroo coughed and coughed, trying to get as much water as he could in his mouth to wash the taste away, "I knew the bread smelt off." He grunted afterwards, thankful for the two water fountains for the public. At least they wouldn't dehydrate themselves to death._

_After minutes of coughing and wheezing, the two slumped on the rough concrete, ignoring the way it scratched on their skin._

_"People are cruel. Unnecessarily cruel." Suguru muttered then)_

_The other time (and last time) they tried to search the bins had gotten Kuroo a terribly sick stomach._

_They agreed to never do that again._

_Kuroo then suggested just snatching the leftovers away before they even get chucked to the bin—people, especially those blessed since birth, had no regard for the food they eat. They do not care whether someone else was starving or not, so they really wouldn't miss if Kuroo and Suguru took their leftovers, right?_

_Both of them manage to land a few jobs here and there—sometimes to carry people's things, sometimes they watch over their cars, but those jobs are difficult to find, since there are also people, who are much more trustworthy-looking than Kuroo and Suguru, looking for those little jobs._

_Daishou had been a little luckier than Kuroo. Suguru had always been crafty with his hands, so he often spent time alone and scavenging for some tossed motors and parts, always looking for something to learn, though all of his basic knowledge came from a book he once read in the orphanage._

_Kuroo tucked away the bread in his pocket. It was near sundown—only an hour to go and he'd go back to the riverside where he and Suguru agreed to meet. Since he wasn't sure if Suguru found food, he'd ignore the ache in his stomach and wait for the time to come back._

_-_

_Kuroo might have fallen asleep for a bit, since the next time he opened his eyes the skies had bled streaks of orange, purples, and dark blues already, and the moon was peeking out._

_He stood in an instant, tapping his pocket where the bread was, and then he ran—navigated through the streets and alleys, some darker than the rest since the streetlights didn't quite reach them._

_He was nearing his destination when he heard something—_

_"Let me go!" A kind of familiar voice called out from one particularly dark street. Kuroo's back straightened as his heartbeat picked up, eyes squinting as he made out some figures in the dark—two tall figures and one small one, which was struggling._

_"I said let me go!" The voice repeated, they sounded desperate.. and quite mad..?_

_Kuroo grit his teeth. It wasn't his business, he should_ not _get involved… but there was something in the person's voice that made him want to sprint and rescue them. Even if Kuroo wasn't exactly sure how he'd do that._

_"Just come with us calmly!" Another gruff voice came._

_"I said-"_

_"We should knock him out." A calm voice spoke. The very image of how these men would knock the person out sent shivers to Kuroo's spine._

_He_ needed _to do something._

  
  


_He really shouldn't get involved._

  
  


_That someone needed his help._

  
  


_How would he help?_

  
  


_What if it was The Syndicate, and that small someone was their victim?_

  
  


_Kuroo was_ most _certain he was an idiot._

_Before he even knew it, he had taken off his thin rubber slippers, and with his eyes squinted, he aimed for one of the taller figures, nailing them on the head-_

_"Ow! What the fu-"_

_"Who's there?"_

_Then Kuroo reached for the pizza slice inside his pocket—it was hot and spicy—he bet it'd hurt one's eyes if he shoved the whole thing on their face._

_With the same speed he used to run away from the orphanage and its workers, he grabbed the smaller figure's arm, tugging on them harshly as he smacked the piece of spicy pizza on the other guy's face. Ducking away from the guy #1 who he just hit with his slipper, he sprinted away from the two, tugging their poor victim with him who struggled to keep up with him._

_It seemed like the two men (Kuroo assumed they were men) were too surprised since they chased after them a bit too late. Luckily, Kuroo knew the streets and alleys and navigated smartly through them, losing the two after a few tiring minutes of running._

_They ended up under a bridge, near where Suguru and Kuroo were supposed to meet. His body was trembling with exhaustion when he stopped but he never let go of the other person's hand, gripping it tightly as the smaller figure who wore a black hoodie and had shoulder-length black hair tried to catch their breath too._

_"There.. You're safe.." Kuroo muttered between ragged breaths, gaze not leaving the hunched form of the other person, he couldn't tell if they were a girl, but they spoke too softly and-_

_"What the hell.. Were you thinking?" the person fell on their knees—Kuroo vaguely recognized that voice._

_"I.. Wanted to save you!" Kuroo retorted as he searched his memories for the reason why this person seemed familiar._

_"From what?"_

_"From The Syndicate!"_

_Kuroo heard gritting of teeth, and saw the way the person's fists clenched._

Where did I see this person..? Where..? 

_Wait-_

_"Nice going! Just so you know," The person looked up at him; wide, cat-like eyes glared at Kuroo with unrestrained anger, "I'm a member of The Syndicate, and what you did was_ painfully _unnecessary!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deeply hope I can drop the next chapter this month, but again, no promises because my schedule (and mood) are quite unstable.
> 
> Thank you guys so much, this story's nearing 2.8k kudos now, thank you.


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks you guys. You guys shower me with love every time.
> 
> This chapter's unedited.
> 
> Word count: 5.6k
> 
> I hope you still enjoy!

_ Kuroo blinked several times, staring at the glaring, heaving person he just took away from a couple of kidnappers.  _

_ The words the person angrily screamed at him echoed inside his head a couple of times, bouncing around as Kuroo processed.  _

_ Blinking, Kuroo shoved a hand to his hair. Eyes filled with worry as he said: _

_ "Did we run too fast? Did you run out of air that you're hallucinating?" he gave the shoulder of the person a pat—he guessed the long-haired kid was a boy, like him. "We're quite far from them, you can catch your breath for a bit."  _

_ Yeah.. That was the wrong thing to say, since the person's glare sharpened.  _

_ Kuroo stood straight. What a scary kid.  _

_ "I am from The Syndicate." The kid huffed out, "Fuck, I'm not supposed to tell."  _

_ Kuroo stood there, blinking stupidly as the boy pulled out a device—his phone. Kuroo held one of those before.  _

_ "Naoi-san?" The boy spoke with heavy breaths and Kuroo heard a muffled voice from the phone, "I'm under Mito bridge, yes, I'm fine—the person thought I was getting kidnapped. No, I'll keep him here." The boy glanced at him then with sharp cat-like eyes that rooted Kuroo on his spot.  _

_ Pressing some red button, the call ended and the boy tapped his feet in impatience.  _

_ "Uh.. I'm Kuroo.." _

_ "Shut up."  _

_ "Okay."  _

_ Well, that was that. Kuroo glanced around, looking over the spot where he and Daishou were supposed to meet. It was no surprise his friend wasn't there. He probably got caught up with something, or he was still searching for food. Or he ate all his food and bailed on Tetsurou for being late.  _

_ "What a shitty day.." Kuroo muttered under his breath, grimacing as his stomach growled loudly. He threw his only food away just to 'save' this boy and turned out he wouldn't be even thanked at all.  _

_ The boy he dragged perked up, seemingly hearing his pathetic growling stomach, sparing him a glance that lasted a good two seconds, and Kuroo had to glance away in embarrassment.  _

_ There was a dragged out sigh, and a crinkling of plastic as the boy took something from his pocket.  _

_ An oatmeal bar.  _

_ Kuroo swallowed the saliva that pooled in his mouth—he loved oatmeal bars. He had those with Suguru before.  _

_ "Here." The boy—Kuroo wanted to know his name already—gave him the bar, though he was still frowning, "I.. Get it, maybe if it was someone else in my position and they were really getting kidnapped, you would've been a great help." He fidgeted in his spot and struggled to look at Tetsurou's eyes. _

_ Tetsu graciously accepted the food, making sure to slow his pace and not gobble the whole thing up so as to not look like he was  _ that  _ desperate (although he was). _

_ "But.. I wasn't somebody else, and you dragged me away, and I hate running more than anything. You're lucky Naoi-san didn't shoot you on the spot." The boy's demeanour changed a bit—a lot less feral than he was before. "I.. Um.. Look, I wasn't supposed to tell that I'm from The Syndicate, that was a mistake I made because I was mad at you for making me run all over the place. I need to have you shut up about it,"  _

_ Kuroo chewed as quietly as he could as the boy fidgeted and played with the hem of his hoodie.  _

_ Yes, the declaration the boy made about being a part of the Syndicate was stupid as hell, he was lucky no one else was around and the bridge he dragged them to was rarely used.  _

_ And yes, Kuroo was also stupid for jumping into action like that.  _

_ They're both stupid. Kuroo decided then.  _

_ "It's fine.. We're both at fault. You're forgiven because of the oatmeal bar." Kuroo took another bite. Gods, he missed food and eating.  _

_ "We?" The boy had an incredulous look on his face, " _ You're  _ the one who dragged me and jumped into conclusions."  _

_ "Well, you sounded like you were being kidnapped! What was I supposed to do?"  _

_ "Turn away and run like a normal person?"  _

_ "Look-"  _

_ "Kenma?"  _

_ Another voice made the two stop.  _

_ "Naoi-san." The boy let out a breath of relief, "I'm here."  _

_ A person—he looked familiar—entered their field of vision. He was definitely one of the two men before, given that smear of pizza sauce the man had on his gray undershirt.  _

_ "Good. You're safe." This Naoi-san breathed a sigh of relief, "Where's the-ah. You're the kid who dragged Kenma away, huh?"  _

_ Kuroo stopped chewing as the man walked towards them.  _

_ He glanced at the two with unease. The man might be smiling and 'Kenma' (Kuroo would assume his name was Kenma) was slumping  _ but  _ they were still Syndicate members—if Kenma wasn't lying.  _

_ And judging by the metallic glint from near the pockets of the man, Kenma wasn't.  _

_ Kuroo scuttled near the mossy wall.  _

_ "No need to be scared!" Naoi laughed, "I mean you already smacked half-eaten spicy pizza on my face—which you stole from us earlier—and you're still breathing. It can't possibly be worse than that."  _

_ "He knows that we're part of the Syndicate.." Kenma muttered.  _

_ Naoi stopped on his tracks, "What? You told him? You rarely make such mistakes, Kenma.. Ah.. Well, you're lucky."  _

_ The two boys perked up.  _

_ "Lucky?" Kenma voiced his thoughts.  _

_ "I called Nekomata-sensei on the way here, and well, he's interested in the guy. Said if he could outrun us and drag you away with such little resources, then he'd be an interesting...lapdog." Naoi reached the two of them, eyes assessing Kenma for any injuries,"What do you think, kid?"  _

_ "No." Kuroo answered without missing a beat, "I don't want to get involved in The Syndicate."  _

_ "You do realize, we might kill you here and now just for knowing our identities, right?" Kenma asked, "What's your name?"  _

_ "I literally told you earlier.." He huffed, trying to act tough to ignore the building unease inside him that made him squirm. There was something about the two that made him uneasy—well, it was a given those two were dangerous, one of this city's most dangerous, but there was something underlying in their gazes that made Kuroo feel like he was being dissected, his parts being picked on as they continued to talk to him.  _

_ "Well, I'm asking you now." Kenma retorted with an eye roll. Kuroo knew better than to annoy the people who currently held his life.  _

_ "I'm curious too!" Naoi laughed, watching the two, though Kuroo could see a glint in his eyes that made him uneasy, his feet itching to run away from there—speaking of, he just lost his slipper, he'd need to find a new pair.  _

_ "Kuroo.. Kuroo Tetsurou." He mumbled, fist almost crushing the leftover oatmeal bar (he wanted to save some for Suguru).  _

_ "Kuroo, huh.." Naoi tapped his chin, "I'm putting you in the watch list for now. I won't force you to join because forcing someone increases the risk of betrayal in the long run. But remember this,"  _

_ Kuroo watched in horror as the man pulled his hand gun from his holder, the metal almost looking like it was shining under the moonlight, then the gun was pointed at him—Kuroo knew that he could never outrun a bullet.  _

_ "You are to shut your mouth about anything Kenma told you. If you utter even just a syllable about it, the bullet will come after you with no mercy whatsoever." Naoi's voice deepened into a terrifying tone that made Kuroo's knees buckle _

_ Saliva pooled inside Tetsurou's mouth, his tongue felt heavy and he could only answer with a shaky nod. He was powerless against these men, and it'd be foolish to lie and trick them, especially when they've got the whole goddamned city under their control.  _

Maybe I can ask Suguru to move away from here?  _ Kuroo's thoughts raced,  _ But if I make a move they don't like, they'll come after Suguru too.. 

_ He couldn't have that.  _

_ "Use your words, Kuroo-kun." Naoi warned, "Your words might save you."  _

_ "I won't tell!" Kuroo fell on his knees, the gun following his movements without fail, should he say the wrong words a bullet will pierce him right between the eyes, "I swear on my life, I won't tell.."  _

_ A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed between the three, before Naoi slowly set down his gun, a smile returning on his face as he beckoned Kenma to come over.  _

_ "Well, we'll be expecting you to hold your words true, Kuroo-kun."  _

_ Kenma had his gaze casted on Kuroo, and Kuroo saw pity in them—along with the sickening glint of satisfaction.  _

_ They all thrive on this. The show of their power. They love order so much they'd gone mad. _

_ Kuroo couldn't stomach even the thought of joining them.  _

_ Kuroo slumped, sitting on the cold ground as he looked at the almost-crushed oatmeal bar, he didn't realize he held it too tightly. He couldn't blame himself, everyone would be the same if someone just threatened to shoot you right there and then.  _

_ "Ugh, how am I supposed to tell Suguru?"  _

_ His life just turned even more complicated than it already was.  _

_ - _

_ Kuroo didn't realize he fell asleep until he woke up with someone annoyingly and endlessly poking his cheek.  _

_ "Cut it off.." He swatted away whoever was doing that shit, but the person didn't care, "Fuck off."  _

_ "Don't you 'fuck off' me, Kuroo Tetsurou! I waited for you! And when you didn't come, I looked for you all over!" Ah, it was Suguru. Figured.  _

_ Slowly opening one eye, Kuroo was met with a distraught but equally furious face of his dear friend Daishou Suguru.  _

_ "'m sorry." His words came out as a mumbled gibberish, he lifted his hand and handed Suguru the half of the oatmeal bar Kenma gave, "Eat."  _

_ "Oh.. I ate a bit yesterday—eat it yourself."  _

_ "Nah. I already ate half. Go eat. It's your favourite too, right?"  _

_ Suguru was silent for a few moments as Kuroo handed him the bar, propping up his elbows and not caring for the way the rough ground scratched his skin. Kuroo sat lazily and stretched his aching limbs.  _

_ "Damn, I shouldn't have slept on concrete, my whole body hurts." Kuroo groaned and earned an eye roll from Daishou who now munched on the food.  _

_ "What happened to you?" Ah yes, now to figure out how to answer these questions without getting a bullet lodged on their heads.  _

_ "I snatched food from the wrong person.." Kuroo stood up and did some more stretching, "Chased me all the way, I had to lose them so I didn't go back to the meeting spot. Who knows what they would've done if they found us."  _

_ Suguru's brows furrowed in worry, "Did they hurt you?"  _

_ "No. I'm pretty good at running."  _

_ "Be more careful next time." Daishou finished the oatmeal bar, standing up too, "If it's not worth it, leave the food."  _

_ "Alright.."  _

_ Suguru lightly punched Kuroo's side—which ached badly.  _

_ "Ow! You bastard! My body hurts!" _

_ "For bailing on me."  _

_ "I just explained why!"  _

_ Daishou just laughed and stepped into the sunlit ground. It was probably around ten in the morning.  _

_ Kuroo halted in his steps, remembering the events of the night. It was a crazy experience, he didn't know if Suguru would even believe him—not that he'd tell Suguru.  _

_ Kuroo was sure then that he'd never ever join The Syndicate.  _

_ - _

_ Approximately three months passed since Kuroo had an encounter with Kenma and Naoi from The Syndicate, since then he managed to learn more about that organization controlling the city.  _

_ First thing was that they operate in separate factions with different specialties. Tetsurou wondered which faction those two belonged to.  _

_ Second, was that the chosen six factions that will lead all the others changed from time to time—Daishou said something about the faction Fukurodani? (Kuroo couldn't remember the name much) being unmovable from its spot for years now, and so was the faction Shira— _

_ Shira-something. He couldn't remember.  _

_ Speaking of Daishou, his friend grew an alarming interest in The Syndicate. Kuroo once asked Daishou what it was all about but his friend brushed it off as a plain child's curiosity.  _

_ He believed him, after all, Suguru was the one to warn him to stay away.  _

_ He couldn't deny the growing pit of unease that settled inside him and made him feel restless and agitated though.  _

_ Kuroo blamed it on the way he would sometimes see Naoi when he was searching for food. There were times the man bought him good food, smiling all the way as if the whole 'I'll kill you' incident didn't happen—he knew he was being observed though, he was on the watch list, he said.  _

_ Kuroo had always been keen on learning new things. He didn't always have the means to learn, so he adapted and resorted into observing people as they did their work. Observing people grew into instinct and melted into being a habit, so he often did it unconsciously, this skill saved him a couple of times already.  _

_ So he  _ knew  _ when something was up with Suguru—especially when his friend started to spend less and less time with him, and when he came back he'd always have a handful of different food, which was suspicious since all of them were obviously store-bought and not half-eaten.  _

_ "Where do you get the money?" He asked while he stuffed his mouth full with a bite of the cheeseburger Suguru brought—he might be suspicious of where his friend got the money for it, but it was food nonetheless.  _

_ Kuroo took note of the few beats of silence that stretched between them, and the slight rise of Suguru's tone when he answered.  _

_ "My tinkering worked out and I managed to fix some motor parts, a curious person bought it."  _

_ Tetsurou set down his food. That wasn't a lie. But that wasn't the truth either.  _

_ "Ah. I see."  _

_ He let it go, for now.  _

_ - _

_ Kuroo and Daishou weren't related by blood, nor did they spend every waking hour with each other.  _

_ They were friends, the person each other trusted the most.  _

_ Their trust with each other held their friendship together. They had saved each other through a couple of harsh winters with no food to salvage, no thick clothes to save them.  _

_ Kuroo could even say he thought of Suguru as a brother— _

_ "You're joining The Syndicate?" Tetsurou's voice raised and broke at the last syllable, eyes unblinking as he stared at Suguru in front of him.  _

_ "Tetsu.. You see-"  _

_ "You were the one who told me to keep away from them!" Kuroo grabbed the collar of Suguru's shirt—a new shirt, a clean one that told him that  _ Suguru wasn't lying. 

_ "You said they're dangerous! That we'd be throwing away our lives!" Kuroo didn't care who heard as he swung his fist and struck Suguru's cheek. "Do I need to knock some sense into you?!"  _

_ Gritting of teeth could be heard as Daishou turned away. Kuroo knew he was bottling up emotions—Suguru had always been like that, lying and hiding and striking until a perfect time—Kuroo knew, he just didn't expect he'd get bitten while he had his back turned by Suguru himself.  _

_ "Tell me." Tetsurou cursed at the way his voice wavered, "Why are you doing this?"  _

_ Every word Suguru uttered only twisted the knife of betrayal that Kuroo had been stabbed with.  _

__

_ "It doesn't matter, Tetsu. You won't understand." Suguru shrugged his hand off, backing away from Kuroo without showing any expression on his face. "You won't understand. Not you."  _

_ "Bullshit!"  _

_ "Tetsu, look, you don't know me anymore, okay? From now on, we've never known each other." Suguru waved a hand as Kuroo stood there, betrayed by the last person he considered family.  _

_ "This is goodbye, Kuroo."  _

_ - _

_ It was a huge blow on Kuroo's psych, needless to say. He grew even more anxious, like a rabid dog that was almost killed before and escaped—he trusted no one, and grew more and more violent when stealing food.  _

_ There was an unsaid law between Suguru and Tetsurou that they'd never steal money; it didn't matter to Kuroo now.  _

_ Approximately two months (Tetsu wasn't sure, he didn't care much anymore) when someone left a plastic bag full of different types of food: fruits, biscuits, bread, a few bottled water. _

_ Kuroo never did find out who left it—he assumed it was Naoi or Kenma who pitied him, but that bag of food saved him for a few good weeks.  _

_ The food helped him clear up the fog in his mind due to Suguru's betrayal. If that even made sense.  _

_ He realized he still had a chance.  _

_ He could join Kenma.  _

_ It would show that bastard Daishou that he did Kuroo wrong too.  _

_ Kuroo fiddled with the rubber of his slipper (he found it in the recyclables), weighing out his options. Would joining The Syndicate be for the better?  _

_ "Nothing's worse than this life anyway, so it's certainly better." Tetsurou looked over the flowing river dyed orange by the setting sun, perking up when he heard footsteps.  _

_ He immediately stood, and saw a black-clad figure walking to him.. Kenma?  _

_ "Kuroo Tetsurou.."  _

_ "Why are you here?"  _

_ "Would you like to join Nekoma?"  _

* * *

  
  


A gasp from Hinata made Kuroo smile. 

"Wait! So you're telling me.. You met Kenma when you took him away from his own uncle.. Then he got mad, but then they wanted to train you for Nekoma?" Hinata listed off the most surprising plot points he found in the story Kuroo twisted a bit. 

He couldn't tell Hinata about the whole 'The Syndicate' fiasco, right? 

"Yep. I guess Naoi-san saw something in me?"  _ Man _ ,  _ that's kind of cliché.  _

"But then, Suguru-san betrayed you by leaving." Shouyou picked on a stray stand on his shorts, eyes looking up at Kuroo. 

"Yeah.. Looking back at it now, Daishou only wanted a better life.."  _ Without me..  _ "And I was young, we both were. He hurt my pride and broke my trust. It led me into Nekoma. It's not that noticeable on the outside, but Nekoma's deals with dangerous politics business, you know? It was a gamble, but here I am now."  _ After two years of hellish training.  _

"Ah.." Shouyou uttered, "For you to be the leader of Nekoma now.. You're awesome, Kuroo-san!" 

Kuroo positively glowed and grinned. 

"Look, Shou, I don't regret anything, but I don't hate Daishou. I just don't trust him." Kuroo glanced at his wristwatch. He needed to go back to work soon. 

"Shouyou," 

"Yes?" 

"Look, I noticed you've been pretty quiet around me.." Kuroo watched as Hinata's brows shot up, "And if it's still because I freaked out when I heard you know Daishou, I want you to know I'm sorry." 

"Kuroo-san..!" 

"And I wanted you to know why I reacted that way. I don't know much about Daishou anymore, but I really don't trust him, I can't stand the thought of him hurting you, do you understand now that you know our story?" Kuroo pulled an apologetic face, "I'm sorry, Shou." 

Hinata fumbled with his words, eyes wide as he swung his arms around, "It's not because of that Kuroo-san! I mean, sure.. You did scare me but it's fine! I.. Got a nightmare last night, and I'm pretty shaken up.." 

_ So I was right..  _

"And.. It makes me zone out at times? It made me remember some bad memories.." Shouyou grimaced, "I'll be fine though." 

"Then you still feel alright with me? You're not scared of me?" 

"Well, Kuroo-san.. It's kind of hard to be scared of you when I see your Hello Kitty tattoo every time.." Shouyou smiled an impish smile as he gestured to Kuroo's hand. 

"What the heck!" Kuroo took his fingerless glove from his pocket, "You're kind of mean, aren't you Shouyou?" 

"Am I? I'm pretty sure I'm an angel." The orange-head batted his wispy orange lashes at Kuroo. 

_ Well, Hinata has this side too, huh..  _ Kuroo shook his head in amusement. 

Then a knock came.

"Come in." 

"Kuroo, Seijoh sent some papers you need to check over. Iwaizumi dropped them off himself." Kai had some envelopes with him as he entered the room. He waved a hand at Shouyou with a smile. 

"You need to work, Cat Head." Kai joked as he dumped the papers on Kuroo's table. 

A groan escaped Tetsurou, slumping on his cushioned seat for a moment before standing up and going to his desk. 

Shouyou perked up, "I'll clean the table!" 

"Thanks, Shou!" 

Kai approached Kuroo while looking over the orange-head who cleaned the emptied bento boxes off the table, "He looks happier now." 

"Yeah..he had a nightmare." Kuroo opened one envelope from Iwaizumi, "We talked a bit, so we're okay now." 

"That's good." Kai checked his phone, "Kenma's still stuck in the meeting." 

Kuroo checked the contents written, grimacing immediately. 

"Kai, can you give Hinata a bit of work until his shift ends? Iwaizumi sent me headaches." Kuroo let out a ragged sigh, "We need to weed out pests, soon."

"Of course, good luck, Kuroo." 

"Thanks. I'll need it." 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Tsukishima was looking forward to Saturday night. 

He'd get to see Tadashi again, though admittedly he still had no idea where he'd bring Tadashi—or where Tadashi would bring him, but the excitement made Tsukki's steps feel lighter. 

There was one problem though.

Shouyou dreamt of Natsu. 

Those times were never good. Shouyou often reverted to his silent, brooding self that he was when Kei first met him. It was unnerving to say the least. 

Shouyou wasn't like that. The real Shouyou he knew brightened everyone's day with his smiles. 

Whenever those times came, Akiteru and Kei would spend hours thinking of a plan to cheer Hinata up—and they would, all to see the light in Shouyou's eyes again. 

What happened to the Hinatas scarred Shouyou too badly, and all Kei wanted was to have his little brother happy. Even if it meant going out of his comfort zones. 

If ever Shouyou asked Kei to stay with him this Saturday, he would. Tadashi would understand. 

-

Saturday rolled and came to Kei in a flash—he didn't need to stay over since Shouyou seemed fine. Sure, he zoned out at times but at least he didn't go back to his silent state. 

"You sure you're okay, Shou?" Kei asked from the kitchen counter as he cooked food for Shouyou—he insisted on cooking dinner since he was going out with Yamaguchi and probably won't get back until tomorrow afternoon. 

"Mm, yeah. Go ahead and get laid, Tsukki." Shouyou was fresh from the shower. He said he's been getting cleaning jobs instead of delivering jobs lately. 

Kei froze as a blush formed on his cheeks. Sure, he and Yamaguchi were planning on checking in somewhere but Shouyou didn't need to point it out loud! 

"Shut up." Was all Kei could say as he stir-fried the vegetables. Shouyou's laugh echoed from the living room, making Tsukki's blush deepen. 

When the food was done, he set up the table for Shouyou to eat. From his peripheral vision, he could see Hinata on the couch, drying his hair while staring at nothing. A frown tugged on Kei's lips. 

"Shouyou." 

The orange-head perked up at his name, leaving the towel to hang around his neck as he skipped to the table, a grin on his face as he saw the meal Kei prepared. 

"Tsukki, I could've done this myself, you know." Shouyou took his seat as Tsukishima room off his apron filled with star designs, "You need to get ready for your date." 

"I've got an hour to get ready, don't worry. I'm gonna shower now, eat your food." The blond reminded as he swiftly ruffled the unruly, still damp hair of Hinata. 

"I'm not a little kid, Tsukki!" 

"No. But your height is for one." 

Tsukishima had a satisfied smirk as he walked to the shower, the sound of Hinata's protests echoing off from the kitchen. 

* * *

Tsukishima played with the ends of his dark green wool scarf, feeling the chilled air lightly chip at his skin. 

He never really did like the cold. 

Luckily, he'd get rid of it soon enough. 

"Tsukki!" 

Kei had to physically keep his giddy smile off his face as he  _ slightly  _ hastened his steps towards the green-haired beauty waiting for him near the ramen shop they went to on their first date. 

"Yamaguchi." Kei mentally applauded himself for keeping his tone neutral—which was really hard to do when you have your crush beaming up at you, with warm light casting shadows on their face that oddly made their smile even more dazzling, even more warm. 

Kei always loved warmth. 

"Let's go in?" Yamaguchi held his hand up, which Kei took with restrained glee. His hands were cold, and to his surprise, Yamaguchi's was calloused, but warm. 

"Let's." 

The smell of mouth-watering ramen greeted their nose, going straight to their stomachs. Kei didn't eat dinner and work was stressing as usual—he was starving and it was perfect, he'd get to thoroughly enjoy his time with Tadashi in this quaint ramen shop that seemed to radiate a homey vibe Kei liked. 

Not that he'd enjoy it any less if he wasn't starving. Just seeing Yamaguchi's chipmunk-like cheeks as he ate his heart out was enough to boost Kei's moods. 

_ I'm whipped.  _

They sat down on the same table they first ate on—Gods, Kei needed to stop taking mental notes of everything and anything, it was too sappy, like a love-starved teen on their first date. 

_ (Tsukki only dated one girl before, they didn't end well since Tsukishima never really met her standards. He was bothered then since he didn't seem to be that bothered. Who knew all it would take was the right person?) _

"Let's order something new, Tsukki? So we can taste everything they have to offer." Yamaguchi smiled at the cook who seemed to recognize them, "What do you say?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine with that." Tsukki settled on his seat, "You can order for me, I'm not a picky eater." 

"Got it." 

Yamaguchi was the one who ordered, pointing out the toppings he chose for the two of them. Tsukki watched from his seat as Yamaguchi talked with a smile on his lips. He was very much like Hinata, but a bit more mellow and less jumpy. 

He just knew he'd get along well with Shouyou. 

Well, Shouyou got along with everyone. So it won't be a problem. 

Maybe he should introduce the two of them? 

Kei hummed, thinking. It would definitely make him happy to see the two be friends, but what would Yamaguchi think? 

Would it be too fast?  _ (Tsukki deliberately ignored the fact that he'd be on the same bed as Yamaguchi later—which meant the concept of 'too fast' had long been blurred for the two of them.)  _

_ After the third date. _ Tsukki decided then,  _ because there definitely will be a third one.  _

"Tsukki, ojii-san said our order will come right up." Tadashi sat across him again, "So, how's Hinata? You said something was bothering him before." 

"He's fine now. He doesn't seem too bothered this time, it must be because of his job." Tsukki sighed, "I'm just glad he's alright." 

"That's good." Yamaguchi shifted on his seat, "You two seem very close." 

"Mm, we are." Kei glanced at the entrance where two voices came, but he quickly focused back on Tadashi, "How's work? You said you had a coworker who got hurt." 

"Ah, right. He bumped into some stuff and got this bruise on his side, but he's gonna be alright, he's tough." Tadashi gestured on his side to show where the bruise was. 

"You and your coworkers should be even more careful. Especially you." 

"Oh, but we'll be fine! We look after each other, you know!" Yamaguchi truly looked proud, "Karasuno's like my family." 

"Karasuno?" Kei echoed.  _ Crows?  _

Yamaguchi seemed to freeze, eyes widening as if he said something wrong, he was about to say something when—

"Ah!" A new voice interrupted, it came from the next table over. 

Tsukishima turned and saw two faces that looked exactly like each other. 

"Yes? Do you need anything?" Tsukki tilted his head, who were these people? 

The blond one's (Kei thought that he had an ugly shade of hair) gaze kept on going back and forth between Tsukki and Yamaguchi, he seemed really surprised while the gray-haired one—Tsukki would guess they were twins—blinked once and turned away from them. 

A loud kick echoed inside the store. 

"'Samu?! The fu-" The blond one whined, crouching. 

"Shut up." 

"Tsukki-" 

"I'm sorry, sir." The gray-haired one turned to the two of them, "My twin's an idiot who randomly screams at people. I really try to restrain him at times." 

"'Samu-" 

"Please, ignore us." The polite gray-haired twin bowed a bit. 

"Uh, alright, I guess?" Tsukishima turned to Yamaguchi, determined to have a great evening with him. 

Only that Yamaguchi seemed too..anxious? 

He had his lips set into a grimace, brows furrowed and face turned pale—and Tsukishima only looked away for a minute. 

"Yamaguchi? Are you okay?" Kei leaned, eyes squinting as he assessed Yamaguchi. 

"Fine!" Tadashi all but squeaked, "Just.. Fine.." 

_ He is not fine.  _ Tsukki knew. 

Then a phone rang. 

It was Tadashi's. 

"Go ahead, pick up." Tsukki snapped Yamaguchi out of his shock. His worry was growing by the second, especially when Yamaguchi fumbled with his phone and dropped it due to panic. 

Kei grabbed it for him, handing the still-ringing phone to Tadashi for him to answer. 

_ Sugawara-san.  _ That was the name of the caller. Tsukishima's mind was working itself out in figuring out what caused Tadashi's change of mood, what exactly caused his panic. 

"Suga-san?" Whispered Yamaguchi—Tsukki still heard since they were still close to each other. "Now? I'm out.." 

Tadashi glanced at him. "No.. No it's fine, I'll be right back." 

_ What is even happening?  _

* * *

Tadashi ended the call, standing up abruptly with the grimace still on his face. 

"Tsukki- something came up at work, I'm so sorry for leaving like this, but they're calling all of us." Then Yamaguchi dropped a few bills for their order that still hasn't arrived, "I'll make it up to you, I promise." 

Kei didn't know what to say except:

"It's okay, good luck." 

-

Kei cursed under his breath. 

He was feeling a lot of emotions at once, his excitement died and rose as a sense of annoyance that kept on festering inside him since he didn't have anything to focus it on. 

First of all, he was.. Upset. Who wouldn't be? His date suddenly left, and not in a good term too. There was already something up with Yamaguchi even before the call from 'Sugawara-san'. 

Was it because of the piss-hair's sudden outburst? 

Why would that be? Sure, the blond seemed like a big idiot but he didn't really see how he would upset Yamaguchi that much. Besides, the twins left not too long after Tadashi did, after receiving a call. 

Second, Tsukki's confused. As fuck. It wasn't funny at all. His answers led to more questions, and nothing bugged him even more than an unsolved problem. 

Third, he's sad. And blue-balled, to be honest. 

Fourth, he was so goddamned  _ full.  _ He ended up having to finish the two bowls of ramen they ordered. And Yamaguchi ordered a large serving.

Fifth, he was cold. Tsukishima hated the cold. 

He hauled a cab on his way back, it was already eleven o'clock and the ride was pricier than Tsukki would've wanted, but he wasn't walking back home on a painfully full stomach and the biting cold wind of autumn. Nope. Not at all. He'd only get more pissed. 

He opened the door with his own set of keys, tiptoeing his way inside to not wake Shouyou. It was expectedly already dark with no lights on and Tsukki had to use his phone's light to navigate his way to his room without stubbing his toe and screaming his mind out. 

_ Who's this Sugawara-san?  _

* * *

Monday came pretty quickly for Shouyou. He hummed as he prepared pancakes for breakfast for the two of them and prepared the tea. 

Tsukki was pissed all day yesterday. 

To Shouyou's surprise, he woke up with Tsukki already home. He had asked his brother if he got back home early in the morning, only to get a grunt of unintelligible  _ 'no'.  _

Shouyou already understood the date was awful. 

Shame.. He was really looking forward to meeting Tsukki's special date.. 

In the end, he had spent half their Sunday shopping for groceries and stuff needed in the house, and the other half watching movies and sharing the tub of chocolate ice cream he sneakily dumped on their cart while shopping. They were already next in line when Tsukki took notice, and  _ yes _ , Kei did glare at him too sharply (that reminded him of their high school days) but it was all worth it since nothing could beat ice cream while insulting dumb romance protagonists. 

Tsukki's still in his grumpy mode come Monday but Shouyou really didn't get the chance to cheer Tsukki further since it was time for work. 

He just hoped his brother would sort out his dating blues. 

Like usual, he biked his way to Nekoma, chaining his bike securely and skipping his way to Kuroo's office, where Kenma and Kuroo were waiting for him, a familiar brown envelope on the table. 

"Good morning, Chibi-chan!" Kuroo greeted from his seat as Shouyou and Kenma shared their morning hugs. 

"Good morning, Kuroo-san!" Shouyou beamed, feet tapping, "What's my task for the day?" 

Kuroo grinned, hand taking the envelope and waving it around, 

"You're to deliver these to Aoba Johsai." Hinata nodded, he knew his instructions already, but Kuroo wasn't done yet. 

"One more thing." 

"Yes?" 

"Cheer the Grand King up. _Please_ , Shou." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try my best to update by the end of the month or first week of March. See ya!


End file.
